SHANGHAI — China’s growth streak has lasted for decades, surviving the crackdown at Tiananmen Square, the global financial crisis and the trade war with the United States. But it might not endure the coronavirus epidemic, making it nearly impossible for the rest of the world to escape a slowdown.

The damage was widespread in the official numbers on Monday, the first significant batch of government data since China’s vast containment efforts brought the country to a standstill. Industrial production, retail sales and investment all posted record double-digit drops for the first two months of the year, compared with the same period in 2019.

The weakness raises the possibility that the entire Chinese economy may have shrunk in the first quarter of this year. It would be the first contraction since 1976, when China was hit by the devastating Tangshan earthquake as well as the tumult from the death of Mao, whose Cultural Revolution threw the economy into disarray for a decade.

The knock-on effects for the world are significant. China’s factories rely on oil and other commodities from countries like Angola, Sierra Leone and Chile. Its shoppers love Apple iPhones, Chevrolet cars and Starbucks coffees. Its construction of new buildings, roads and rail lines depends on steel often made from iron ore mined in Brazil or Australia.