World Bank raises China growth outlook to 8.5%

BEIJING (AP) — The World Bank is raising its forecast of China’s economic growth this year to 8.5% from 8.1% and says vaccinations against the coronavirus are needed for a full recovery. The report adds to positive signs for China, the first major economy to rebound from the pandemic. Factory and consumer activity are back above pre-outbreak levels, though authorities have re-imposed travel controls in some areas to counter outbreaks of new variants of the virus. The World Bank said Chinese growth is likely to decline to 5.4% next year as the rebound from last year’s history-making global slump fades and activity returns to normal.