Fitch Solutions has stated that China’s real GDP in the construction sector is expected to expand by 1.8 percent in 2020, year on year. In the first quarter of the current year, the construction sector in China contracted by 17.5 percent on year-on-year basis amid lockdown measures. However, Fitch anticipates an improvement in the second quarter, in terms of investments in real estate and infrastructure, while downside risks exist. Fitch expects the government’s infrastructure investments to increase in the near future as the local government’s special bonds have been approved.
Besides, the increase in the output of excavators, cement, and reinforcing steel bars has pointed to a rebound in the construction supply chain, while fixed asset investments in infrastructure and real estate have been showing a V-shaped recovery since March when the government gradually started to ease the lockdown measures, SteelOrbis understands.