First into the coronavirus slump, China is proving the fastest out

China’s economy, the first to succumb to the coronavirus, is proving to be the fastest to recover.

An industry-powered rebound is pushing the Asian nation out of the historic first-quarter slump and toward the prospect of being the only major economy to expand this year. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecast growth of 2.0%.

To get there, it has squashed a number of smaller virus outbreaks, weathered the collapse in global demand, and kept markets buoyant despite persistent fears of a broad technology Cold War with the U.S.

The reasons for China’s performance so far range from a populace willing to