China is expected to announce an economic rebound on Tuesday, when Beijing releases its first quarterly gross domestic product figures since abolishing growth-sapping COVID-19 restrictions late last year.

The Asian giant's virus containment policy — an unstinting regime of strict quarantines, mass testing and travel curbs — strongly constrained normal economic activity before it was abruptly ditched in December.

The disclosures on Tuesday will give the first snapshot since 2019 of a Chinese economy unencumbered by public health restrictions, with analysts polled by AFP expecting an average of 3.8% year-on-year growth in the period from January through March.