A year after Covid began, China on course to surpass US as biggest economy

Global output fell 4.2% last year, according to the World Bank, pushing China's share of it to 14.5% at 2010 dollar prices -- two years earlier than expected

China’s economic ascent is accelerating barely a year after its first coronavirus lockdowns, as its success in controlling Covid-19 allows it to boost its share of global trade and investment.

The world’s second-largest economy is set on Monday to report gross domestic product increased 2.1% in 2020, the only major economy to have avoided a contraction, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists.

That should ensure its share of the world economy rose at the fastest pace this century. Global output fell 4.2% last year, according to the World Bank, pushing China’s share of it to 14.5% at 2010 dollar