China's economy sharply contracts in Q2

July 15 (UPI) -- China's economy sharply contracted in the second quarter of the year, Beijing said Friday as it continued to battle the COVID-19 pandemic with protracted lockdowns.

The National Bureau of Statistics of China said in a statement that its economy contracted 2.6% in the three months ending in June, which is a stark fall from the 1.4% growth it registered in the first quarter.

The number represents an on-year expansion of 0.4%.

"It wasn't easy to maintain positive economic growth," Fu Linghui, spokesperson with the bureau, said Friday in a press conference, according to The Washington Post. "Looking at the next stage, the risk of stagflation in the global economy is rising. "

The drop comes as China this spring faced a series of lockdowns as part of a "Zero COVID" policy intended to clamp down on coronavirus cases, which spiked during Q2 for the first time since it virus' initial outbreak back in early 2020.

The report states that along with a complicated and challenging international environment, there were "multiple and sporadic" local COVID-19 outbreaks that made economic development "extremely unusual with significantly increased adverse impacts."

However, the mitigation polices put in place were effective, it said.

"The resurgence of the pandemic was effectively contained" and "the national economy registered a stable recovery," it said.