China has staged a remarkable rebound, according to data just out, with GDP growth up 6.5 percent in the last three months of 2020. Analysts say swift action on lockdown measures in the early days of the pandemic has paid dividends for an economy that had slumped by 6.8 percent in the first quarter of last year.

The hope now is that other regions may follow. However the European markets have been sluggish at the start of the new week, amid ongoing COVID-19 concerns and other disappointing data on the corporate front. Eurostar, the high-speed cross-channel rail service is the latest casualty of the pandemic fallout, warning it has just months to go before facing bankruptcy, while Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard has bid "au revoir" to its $20 billion bid for France's Carrefour.

However in a sign of what we might expect in the "new normal" post COVID-19, Deliveroo has raised $180 million from private investors ahead of its planned flotation later this year. The cash boost values the UK's biggest home food delivery service at a giddy $7 billion. The Infrastructure and logistics sectors are also booming, with investment in the distribution warehouses now springing up across the UK rising 25 percent last year alone. 

And what's the most heavily traded cryptocurrency on the world's markets? Bitcoin, of course, you must be thinking? As always in the virtual world, things are not quite as clear as they seem.

Read on for all the day's business news in full.

Louise Greenwood,

Digital correspondent

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China's economy is now expanding at a faster rate than before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new figures. GDP rose 6.5 percent in the last quarter of 2020, well ahead of expectations, with growth for the year up 2.3 percent, largely on the strength of strong manufacturing and export performance. The uptick comes despite the lockdown conditions imposed across much of the country at the start of the year. Despite weaker consumer spending, China is expected to be the only major world economy to post overall economic growth for 2020. 

Economists are warning of the growing likelihood of a double-dip recession in the eurozone as governments impose tough restrictions to deal with the new surge in COVID-19 infections. Oxford Economics, Nomura and ING are among forecasters that point to the impact of lockdown conditions on the services sector, in areas such as hospitality and retail, for a contraction of up 2.3 percent across the bloc in the last quarter of 2020 – and the strong chance of a similar squeeze for the start of 2021. This result would leave the eurozone in its second recession (technically, two consecutive quarters of negative growth) in less than two years.

And the positive data from China failed to lift market spirits on Monday, with most of the European bourses flat amid the ongoing concerns about the impact of COVID-19 on any recovery hopes and other disappointing news across the eurozone's corporate sector.

The high-speed cross-channel train service Eurostar has warned it could face bankruptcy in months without a rescue package. Passenger numbers have fallen by up to 95 percent since the UK's first lockdown began in March. In a joint letter to the the UK's chief finance minister Rishi Sunak, 28 British business leaders have called for "swift action to safeguard" Eurostar's future, amid fears it may run out of cash by April. Eurostar, which is majority-owned by the French government, is currently running just two services a day between London's St Pancras station to Paris and Brussels.

Facebook has said it will ban all online adverts for weapon accessories and combat equipment in the run up to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday. The ban will stay in place until the end of the week. After the attack on Capitol Hill by right-wing groups on January 6, Facebook announced in a blog post: "We already prohibit ads for weapons, ammunition and weapon enhancements like silencers. But we will now also prohibit ads for accessories." However, the temporary ban has not gone far enough for some Democrat senators, who have written to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking him to permanently block adverts for products designed to be used in armed combat.

Meanwhile there are signs that President-elect Joe Biden may cancel the planned  $9 billion trans-Canada Keystone XL pipeline project upon taking office. Although construction is under way in Canada, plans to extend the oil pipeline from Canada's province of Alberta to Nebraska in the US midwest, has been slowed in the U.S. by legal issues and environmental objections. The project had previously been blocked by the Obama administration in 2015. 

Canada's industry minister has assured businesses of continued government support after the collapse of retail chain Alimentation Couche-Tard's $20 billion bid for France's Carrefour. The Quebecois convenience store operator pulled out of the deal after strong objections were raised by the French government in the area of food security and jobs. In a joint statement, the two companies said they would seek alternative partnership opportunities instead. After the news broke, Canada's Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne tweeted that the government in Ottawa will support Canadian businesses "here and abroad" through the pandemic downturn.

General Motors says it has signed a tentative deal to invest nearly $785 million in its commercial electric vans plant in Canada. The Detroit auto giant has agreed to begin large-scale commercial production of its EV600 model at its base in Ingersoll Ontario. 

Google has objected to its latest antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. by claiming the objections by the state of Texas against its parent company Alphabet are "misleading." Last month, state attorneys launched a complaint about Google's advertising technology business, alleging the tech giant abused its dominance of the internet search business or otherwise broke antitrust law. Google has replied that its rates are fair and denies claims of preferential deals with partner platforms such as Facebook. 

Tesla, the world's leading electric car maker, has confirmed it has started delivering its Shanghai-made Model Y sports utility model to customers in China. The company says the vehicles have gone to market with a starting price of $52,400, after official approval from regulators was granted last November. Tesla faces growing competition within China from domestic rivals such as NYSE-listed Nio and and Xpeng, which last week confirmed a new $2 billion credit line to help fund the global roll-out of its G3 and P7 models.

A Republic of Korea court has sentenced Samsung Electronics' vice chairman to two-and-a-half years in jail on bribery charges. The Seoul court found Jay Y Lee guilty of bribery, embezzlement and concealment of criminal proceeds worth about $7.8 million. Lee had previously served one year in prison for bribing an associate of former President Park Geun-hye when an appeals court suspended the term and the Supreme court ordered a retrial. His time served in jail to date will count against his latest sentence.

The UK's biggest food-delivery company Deliveroo has raised a further $180 million from investors ahead of a planned flotation later this year. If the firm goes to market at its new valuation of $7 billion, it will be be the biggest new share issue in London for three years. Part of the backing comes from minority shareholder Amazon, which took a 16 percent stake in Deliveroo last August despite objections from local competitors Just Eat Takeaway and Domino's Pizza. Deliveroo says the new cash injection will help fund tech innovation and extend customer choice. 

Investment into the UK's logistics sector hit a record high last year as cash was pulled out of office blocks and retail parks and put into warehouses and delivery firms. The property group Savills says investment in distribution warehouses topped $6.3 billion in 2020, up 25 percent on the previous year, as the pandemic led to a boom in home shopping and stockpiling by consumers. The biggest single deal was the $640 million purchase on October by the Blackstone private equity group of a logistics platform from the warehouse company, Prologis.

Armin Laschet has been elected leader of Germany's Christian Democrats, the country's largest party. The premier of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia is now favourite to succeed Angela Merkel as Chancellor in this September's federal elections. CGTN Europe was joined by Ralph Bollmann, correspondent for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, to discuss what his leadership may look like.

He is a type of politician that was well known in Germany, just like Helmut Kohl or Angela Merkel ... he's an "out sitter", as we say in Germany – someone who sits things out, rather than solves problems.

For both Germany and the EU, Chancellor Merkel's departure is going to be a huge generational shift isn't it? 

I think people in Germany are used to thinking, for 16 years now, that there is a person on the top of the state of the federal republic who will care for them, who will solve any problem, in a rather rationalistic, trustful way. And in Europe, in a certain sense, it's the same thing, of course, she's the most influential leader in Europe. No other political leader in Europe is in office for such a long time. And I think the new chancellor, whoever it will be, will not be, at least at the beginning, such a dominant personality, because it's not only because Germany is so big and so important but, of course, Angela Merkel was so influential also because of her personality.

A new leadership in Germany, and a new leadership in the United States, is this the great moment for a transatlantic reset in rather troubled diplomatic relations?

I am not so sure about that ... Donald Trump is gone, but many problems in the relationship between Europe and the United States will be there anyway, especially the idea that Europeans should do more for their own security. And I think a new political leader in Germany will have much more difficulty to do that and to make some steps towards the United States than Angela Merkel could because of her experience.

WATCH: On Wednesday, Joe Biden will take office as the 46th President of the United States. CGTN Europe sat down with the former EU ambassador to the U.S., David O'Sullivan, to discuss what Europe can expect from a Biden administration.

And finally, what is the world's most heavily traded cryptocurrency? Bitcoin of course, right? Wrong! A snapshot taken at mid-morning trading in European time on Monday shows the controversial Tether currency is far and away the market leader. Tether's claims that it is a fiat currency, hard-pegged to the dollar may have drawn skepticism from some market watchers, but it doesn't seem to have dampened investor appetite.