2020 review: China’s economy endured a turbulent 12 months due to the impact of the coronavirus

Name: Trade War: US and China sign breakthrough ‘phase one’ deal
Uploaded: 2021-01-02T04:00:08.000Z
Duration: 1 min 57 s
Description: Trade War: US and China sign breakthrough ‘phase one’ deal

China and the United States signed their long-awaited phase one trade deal in January, but 2020 was dominated by the impact of the coronavirus

China’s economy shrank by 6.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, but it is set to be the only Group of 20 nation to post positive economic growth this year

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China and the United States signed their long-awaited phase one trade deal in January. Photo: Xinhua

Andrew Mullen

Published: 12:00pm, 2 Jan 2021Updated: 12:00pm, 2 Jan 2021

China and the United States signed their long-awaited phase one trade deal in January, somewhat ending their 18 month trade war, but 2020 was dominated by the impact of the coronavirus.

As a result, China’s economy shrank by 6.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, although it is set to be the only Group of 20 nation to post positive economic growth this year.

January 2020

With the severity of the coronavirus still unknown, January will be remembered for China and the US signing their long-awaited phase one trade deal.

This included a commitment to buy an additional US$200 billion worth of goods and services over the coming two years.

While the virus had not yet spread into the global pandemic that it would become, we also looked at Wuhan, the hub of transport and industry for central China, which had been sealed off to contain the spread of the deadly outbreak.

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Trade War: US and China sign breakthrough ‘phase one’ deal