ZEW: Chinese economic outlook improves sharply in April

Germany's Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) said on Tuesday that its most recent survey showed that the expectations for the Chinese economy have risen sharply after the country brought the coronavirus under control.

The China Economic Panel (CEP) indicator, which reflects the country's macroeconomic development over the coming year, stood at 36.5 points in April, soaring by 25.4 points from March's reading of 11.1 points.

The survey showed that China's gross domestic product growth (GDP) growth outlook fell to 2.0 percent for the second quarter and to 3.4 percent for the whole year 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19 in the first quarter. "This downward revision of GDP forecasts is due to the surprisingly poor performance in the first quarter. China's economic output in the third quarter, however, is expected to increase again by 4.2 percent," Michael Schroeder, a senior researcher at ZEW's Research Department International and Financial Management, stated.

The survey showed China's current economic situation is "still relatively weak" as a result of the coronavirus.