Wind turbine blades are seen at a port of a company in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu Province, Nov. 16, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Chun)

BEIJING, Dec. 7 -- China's economy got off to a wobbly start in 2020, when it fell victim to the coronavirus and experienced a first-quarter slump. But as the year draws to a close, it is proving to be the fastest to emerge with an economic expansion for the whole year.

Thanks to a robust year-on-year growth of 4.9 percent in its gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter, the country's economy expanded 0.7 percent in the first nine months, bucking a 1.6 percent contraction in the first half year and a 6.8 percent contraction in the first quarter when the virus took its toll.

In the latest World Economic Outlook report released in October, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected China's economy would grow 1.9 percent in 2020, 0.9 percentage points above the IMF's June forecast, which would make it the only major economy to see positive growth this year.

To contain the virus and restore the economy, China's central leadership took resolute actions to stamp out the spread of the virus and introduced policies to stimulate growth; businesses employed adaptive tactics to survive the crisis; and the public united to observe health protocols. These actions were all indispensable to the country's hard-won gains.

DECISIVE ACTION

Of utmost importance to China's V-shaped economic rebound was the decisive and effective control of the epidemic, without which the quick recovery would have been impossible.

On Jan. 22, the central leadership ordered the immediate imposition of tight restrictions on the movement of people and exit channels in Hubei Province and its capital city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak.

Over the Spring Festival holiday which began in late January, hundreds of millions of people abandoned their holiday plans and remained indoors for weeks. Cities were locked down, businesses were closed and public gatherings were canceled.

In little more than a month, the accelerating spread of the virus was contained. In roughly two months, the daily increase in domestically transmitted coronavirus cases fell to single digits. And in approximately three months, a decisive victory was secured in the battle against the virus in Hubei and Wuhan.

China's swift response created the conditions for the country to cautiously and gradually reopen factories, schools and tourist sites, and thus the economy's quarter-on-quarter growth.

Though there have been a handful of sporadic outbreaks over the past few months, the Chinese government -- with its experience and an approach characterized by speedy contact tracing and mass testing -- has succeeded in rapidly cutting off transmission routes.

"China's fast recovery continues thanks to resolute measures in combatting the virus, mitigating its impact, and supporting growth," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement at the conclusion of the fifth "1+6" Roundtable.