(Yicai Global) Jan. 18 -- China’s economy expanded 2.3 percent last year to exceed CNY100 trillion (USD15.4 trillion) for the first time and make it the world’s only major economy to escape recession as the country bounced back from the initial impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Gross domestic product stood at CNY101.6 trillion in 2020, according to data the National Bureau of Statistics released today.

The annual GDP growth rate came in below the average 2.44 percent increase 21 chief economists canvassed by Yicai Global predicted, but was better than the International Monetary Fund’s forecast for a 1.9 percent gain.

After contracting in the first quarter, the world’s second-largest economy entered a V-shaped recovery once the coronavirus was successfully brought under control. Industrial production and exports then powered the comeback.

Value-added industrial output rose 2.8 percent, the NBS said, while exports gained 3.6 percent, according to figures the General Administration of Customs published on Jan. 14.

In the fourth quarter, GDP rose 6.5 percent year on year, NBS data showed.

Editor: Emmi Laine