China's growth projected to pick up to 7.9%

People shop at a duty-free store in Haikou, capital of South China's Hainan province, on Nov 10, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua

In 2021, "China will continue with some fiscal stimulus but its focus is expected to shift from manufacturing industries to a wider coverage of the social security net and shoring up domestic demand", said Cochrane.

Ning Jizhe, vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that China will maintain a proactive fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy to stabilize the economy at a "reasonable" level this year.

In October, the International Monetary Fund predicted that China would achieve growth of 8.2 percent this year, after becoming the only major economy to see positive growth in 2020.

Output in China is estimated to have rebounded last year at a faster-than-expected rate, with particular support from infrastructure spending, according to the World Bank, which predicted a modest 2 percent increase in China for 2020.

Official statistics have so far charted a steady course for the country's economic rebound, according to analysts.

GDP expanded 4.9 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2020, up from 3.2 percent growth in the second quarter.

However, the recovery of the global economy will be subdued, unless policymakers move decisively to tame the pandemic and implement investment-enhancing reforms, the World Bank cautioned, as COVID-19 has continued to spread, with sharp resurgences in many regions.

"While the global economy appears to have entered a subdued recovery, policymakers face formidable challenges-in public health, debt management, budget policies, central banking and structural reforms-as they try to ensure that this still fragile global recovery gains traction and sets a foundation for robust growth," said World Bank Group President David Malpass.

"To overcome the impacts of the pandemic and counter the investment headwind, there needs to be a major push to improve business environments and increase labor and product market flexibility," he said.