China's economy suffers its first contraction in 28 years.

China's economy shrank in the first three months of 2020, its first contraction since 1992, as production and spending were frozen by the country's coronavirus lockdown.

The National Bureau of Statistics reported on Friday that gross domestic product fell by 6.8 percent during the quarter. China hasn't reported a full year of contraction since the 1970s.

The sharp contraction reflects the weakness in consumer spending and investor confidence while the novel coronavirus has flattened economies around the world. The central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus first emerged, revised its death toll about 50 percent higher on Friday, to 3,869 from 2,579, as the city said it had developed a clearer picture over time.

The economic data released Friday showed that industrial production fell by 1.1 percent year-on-year, retail sales of consumer goods fell 19 percent, investment in fixed assets fell by 16.1 percent, and imports and exports were down by 6.4 percent - all worse than estimated.

China was keen, however, to present positives, saying that overall national economic and social development in the...