China's services activity in January expanded for the first time in five months as spending and travel got a boost from the lifting of stringent COVID-19 curbs, sending business confidence to near 12-year highs, a private sector survey showed on Friday.
This year's celebration is the first in three years without any form of lockdown curbs. China abandoned its strict "zero-COVID" policy in early December after protests against the restrictions, allowing people to travel and the virus to spread rapidly throughout the country.
"After being hit by the latest wave of COVID infections, the primary focus of economic work should be on accelerating economic recovery and promoting normalised production and social order," said Wang Zhe, senior economist at Caixin Insight Group. Last month, firms surveyed said they grappled with rising energy and raw material costs, staff reductions and an increase in the backlog of work.
"Improving expectations, restoring confidence, increasing income, expanding consumption, and stimulating domestic demand will be among the priorities," Wang said.
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