BEIJING – China’s economy steamed to a solid ending last year, beating most estimates to finish its final quarter with 6.5 per cent growth.

In spite of the low full-year figure – the economy grew only 2.3 per cent last year, the lowest in four decades – it is still the only major economy in the world that avoided a contraction amid the Covid-19 pandemic, with analysts and economists cautiously optimistic that such growth can continue.