By Andrea Shalal and Gabriel Crossley, Reuters — Wednesday 21 October 2020
The United States and China dealt with COVID-19 in vastly different ways, and that split is reshaping the global battle between the world’s two leading economies. China’s total reported death toll is below 5,000 and its economy is growing at 4.9% for Q3, while the US has seen 221,000 deaths and faces a new wave of infections with GDP expected to shrink. “China’s economy in 2021 is going to be 10% bigger than it was in 2019, and every other major economy is going to be smaller,” said economist Nicholas Lardy of the Peterson Institute. China’s exports have been stronger than expected, bolstered by demand for medical goods, and its share of global trade has grown even as global trade volume falls 10.4%.