NEW YORK - China's 3.2 percent growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter of this year shows that the economic recovery has gained significant steam in the last two months, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Thursday.

"As the West, and particularly the US, continues to flounder in the face of a deadly pandemic, China's strategy of draconian early lockdowns followed by modest rather than overwhelming stimulus seems to be paying dividends," said the report.

China's headline economic figures are clear indications that the country's recovery, which initially was unsteady and uneven, has gained significant steam in the last two months, according to the report entitled "America Second? China's Recovery Is Accelerating."

Since China has had more success than other major economies at controlling the new coronavirus, it has probably gained export market share as well, it noted.

According to figures from the General Administration of Customs on Tuesday, China saw its foreign trade rise 5.1 percent year on year in June, with exports up 4.3 percent and imports 6.2 percent.

However, pockets of weakness remain clear, the WSJ report said, citing the 1.8 percent year on year decline in retail sales in June.

"Headline figures aside, what is clear is that China are experiencing something far closer to a V-shaped recovery than any other major economy. Growth is likely to slow in the second half but still be faster than in most other places," added the report.