ISLAMABAD — China's robust economic growth in the third quarter (Q3) this year is the outcome of the coordinated efforts under the guidance and support of the government amid the effective control of COVID-19, a Pakistani scholar said.

China's investment in sectors related to domestic demand, new infrastructure projects, online industries and independent innovations resulted in 4.9 percent increase in its economy year-on-year in Q3, despite a decrease of 6.8 percent in the first quarter (Q1), Syed Hasan Javed, director of Chinese Studies Center, School of Social Sciences and Humanities in National University of Science and Technology, Islamabad, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

He said that the stimulus measures of loans and moratorium on debt repayments, financial packages for companies to retain their employees and tax relaxations, helped the country's production sector maintain its pace after the arduous fight against the pandemic, and also helped the country solve the problem of unemployment it faced to some extent during the peak of the pandemic.

"China is the first country to control the pandemic. It suffered economic losses in Q1 because it preferred the lives of its people over the economy by imposing strict lockdowns. The lockdowns paid off and China not only succeeded to control the disease but also managed to stop the second wave even after restoration of normal life and business activities in the country."

He said that at the time when many developed and developing countries across the world are either suffering from a new wave of COVID-19, or taking measures to minimize its impact, China has already jetted off to new heights.

Javed said that at the time when the world's markets and economy were closing, those in China were opening after the country healed from the disease. Recently during national holidays, "the domestic tourism sector also revived, and kudos to the Chinese nation and government that despite frequent movements and gatherings during holidays, the virus did not spread, hence there was no additional burden on the health sector or economy."

He said that Chinese industries kept on producing products needed across the world for COVID-19 prevention including face masks, personal protection equipment and electronic devices to meet international demand at a crucial time when industrial activity across the world slowed down due to the pandemic, thus getting a good share from the international market that leads to a rise in economic growth.

After an increase of 3.2 percent in the second quarter and surge of 4.9 percent in Q3, Javed concluded that the Chinese economy will further pick up its pace in the fourth quarter as, despite the fear of low demand of Chinese products in western markets after the possible re-imposition of lockdowns in the wake of the second wave of COVID-19, China's domestic economic activity including the retail sector will improve after the further recovery of the economy in Q3.