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Despite the burdens from the corona pandemic, China's economy achieved significant growth in 2020.
As the Beijing statistics office announced on Monday, the second largest economy grew by 2.3 percent in the past year.
The growth was therefore greater than many analysts had expected.
According to forecasts, China is the only major economy that did not shrink in 2020.
According to the official figures, the economy had recently picked up speed.
After an increase of 4.9 percent in the third quarter, it increased by 6.5 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the previous year.
Since the most populous country on earth has had the coronavirus largely under control since the summer and only counts isolated infections and smaller outbreaks, economic activities have returned to normal.
According to an estimate by the Federal Statistical Office, economic output in Germany slumped by 5 percent in the past year.
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The strength of the economy can recently also be seen in the country's foreign trade figures, which have been on the up for months.
As the Beijing customs authorities announced last week, exports rose by 18.1 percent year-on-year in December alone.
The imports had increased by 6.5 percent.
"The Chinese economic development in 2020 certainly offered one of the few bright spots in the world," said Max Zenglein from the China Institute Merics in Berlin.
The upswing in China helped German companies to compensate for slumps in other markets.
The strong export figures can be explained by the fact that the Chinese economy quickly adapted to the new demand situation in other countries.
A lot of electronics for setting up home office workplaces as well as medical protective equipment have been supplied from China.
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Observers expected China to continue the upswing this year.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) assumed growth of 7.9 percent for 2021.
New impulses are expected from the new five-year plan, which is to be adopted at the People's Congress in March.
The plan starts where China has suffered the biggest setbacks in recent years.
The US trade and technology war with China has made the dependence on foreign countries painfully aware.
As emerged from the first communications from the leadership of the Communist Party on the new plan, a new economic course is being taken.
Domestic demand and own innovation should be promoted even more.
China wants to make itself more independent from the USA and the rest of the world.
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Despite the positive outlook, there are warnings of ongoing challenges.
According to experts Zenglein, the corona situation must also be monitored in China.
There were hundreds of new infections recently in Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing.
"The rising, albeit regionally limited, corona cases will undoubtedly have an impact on demand shortly before the upcoming Chinese New Year celebrations," said Zenglein.
In particular, it is to be expected that the service sector will be affected if travel and restaurant visits are avoided over the holidays.
Even if the situation cannot be compared with the previous year, there will be no carefree New Year celebrations in China in 2021 either.
According to the traditional lunar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on February 12 this year.