Taiwan GDP growth outpaces China for first time in three decades

Hong Kong, meanwhile, logged back-to-back annual contractions

Pedestrians cross a street on Dec. 2 in Taipei. The island's economy has weathered the pandemic better than most in Asia. © Getty Images

CHENG TING-FANG, LAULY LI and MICHELLE CHAN, Nikkei staff writers

January 29, 2021 17:11 JST

Updated on January 29, 2021 17:46 JST

TAIPEI/HONG KONG -- Taiwan's economic growth last year outpaced China for the first time in 30 years, while Hong Kong logged back-to-back annual contractions.

Taiwan's gross domestic product expanded 2.98% in 2020, faster than the 2.3% of its neighbor across the Taiwan Strait. It's impressive pace in a year when the global economy was battered by the coronavirus pandemic comes as major economies across the globe are set to log annual contractions.