CHINA has become the first major economy to spring back to its feet with its exports currently being higher than ever, according to a research carried out by the British think-tank Oxford Economics.

"World trade rebounded to 94 per cent of its 2019 average in July but not everybody is sharing in this recovery equally," according to the survey.

Tamara Basic Vasiljev, senior economist in Oxford Economics, who compiled the study, said China has beaten its previous record in exports value. According to statistics issued on September 30 by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of China, the sub-index measuring new export orders gained 1.7 points in September from the previous month to 50.8, above the boom-bust line of 50 for the first time this year.

With the implementation of policies on stabilising foreign trade, the export and import of the manufacturing sector saw further improvements, said NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.

Ms Vasiljev said at the beginning of the pandemic outbreak that most expected that the advanced countries with larger services share would be more resilient to lockdowns blow, but "this hasn't played out so far."

"Tourism losses have certainly played a role, putting countries like France, Spain and Italy in precarious positions," she added.

By comparison, China's tourism witnessed a robust recovery during the country's first National Day holidays starting October 1 since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic.

China saw 425 million domestic tourist visits in the first four days of an eight-day national holiday, with total tourism revenue hitting CNY312 billion (about US$45.8 billion), according to a report issued by China's Meituan Research Institute, a social science research agency, reports Xinhua.

According to a recent report from the World Bank, China's economy is expected to grow by 2 per cent in 2020, up from the one percentage growth projection released in June.