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Last year, China's economy grew only 3%, well short of its target.

This is because of the long zero corona policy and sudden quarantine easing, and even China's population is expected to decrease for the first time in 61 years, which will have a significant impact on the economy.



This is Beijing Correspondent Jisung Kim.



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Until November of last year, China adhered to the high-intensity quarantine policy.



Several cities, including Shanghai, the economic capital, were blocked, and major production facilities such as the Foxconn factory and Tesla Shanghai factory, the world's largest iPhone production bases, were also stopped one after another.



Then, in December, as quarantine measures were rapidly eased, the number of corona19 infections surged, and economic activity shrank again.



In addition to Corona, China's economic growth rate last year, which was directly affected by internal and external variables such as the war in Ukraine, was tallied at 3.0%.



It falls far short of the government target of 5.5%.



It is higher than 2.2% in 2020, when Corona 19 first spread, but it is the second lowest since 1976, the last year of the Cultural Revolution.



The population also declined for the first time in 61 years since the Great Famine of 1961.



As of the end of last year, there were 1.41175 million people, a decrease of 850,000 from the previous year, and 10.41 million deaths per year.



It is estimated to be affected by Corona 19 and the decrease in birth rate.



The Chinese government predicted that the prospects for this year were also not very bright.



[Kang Yi/Chief of China's National Bureau of Statistics: The 'triple pressure' of domestic demand contraction, supply shock, and weak expectations is still great.]



The International Monetary Fund cited China's economic recovery as a prerequisite for global economic growth this year, but the unstable corona 19 The situation and faster-than-expected population decline are expected to be variables.



The Chinese authorities are introducing various childbirth support measures to prevent the decline of the population, which has driven growth in all areas, including production and consumption, but the effect is not so great.



(Video coverage: Choi Deok-hyun, video editing: Jung Yong-hwa, CG: Jo Sung-woong)