Fitch said on Tuesday it has cut China's GDP growth forecast for 2022 to 4.3% from 4.8%, saying pandemic-related disruptions have had an impact on the country's economy in the first two quarters of the year.
The rating agency said it stills expects a quarter-over-quarter GDP contraction in the second quarter, before the economy starts to recover.
Fitch raised its 2023 growth forecast for the country slightly higher to 5.2% from 5.1%.
Meanwhile, an official said at a press briefing on Tuesday Beijing will postpone school reopening for at least one week after the labor day holiday.
The date when schools can resume will be decided after studying the COVID situation in the city, Li Yi, spokesperson with Beijing municipal education commission, said.
Some of Shanghai's 25 million people came out for brief walks and grocery shopping after enduring more than a month under a COVID lockdown, while Beijing embarked on another round of mass testing to control a nascent outbreak.
