Chinas growth slows to weakest in 24 years (中国的经济增长放缓到最弱24年) There are questions about how China will adjust to a more moderate level of growth, as John Sudworth reports Continue reading the main story Related Stories IMF cuts global growth forecast China slower growth casts its shadow Watch Chinas property problem Chinas economic growth slowed to its weakest in 24 years, expanding 7.4% last year from 7.7% in 2013. Growth in the worlds second largest economy missed its official annual growth target of 7.5% for the first time in 15 years. But, the annual growth figures still came in higher than market expectations of about 7.2%. Chinas economy expanded by 7.3% in the October-to-December period from a year earlier. That fourth quarter growth was unchanged from the previous three months, but also slightly above economists expectations. Resilient economy Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian economic research at HSBC said the Chinese economy is proving to be more resilient than expected. Although, at 7.3% last quarter, growth isnt as spectacular as over the past decade, it is still among the worlds fastest, he told the BBC. Especially reassuring is that retail sales and industrial production accelerated in December from the prior year, giving China a bit more momentum heading into the year of the goat. Chinas retail sales rose 11.9% last month from a year earlier, while factory output rose 7.9% in the same period. Both economic measures beat forecasts. Worker at a Chinese factory Chinas economy expanded at the slowest pace since 1990 in 2014 Alaistair Chan, economist at Moodys Analytics said the growth figures were helped by the acceleration in factory production, showing that the economy has been able to manage the transition away from its cooling housing market. Property investment low Investment in Chinas once red hot property market slowed to a five-year low of 10.5% in 2014 from a year earlier - the slowest pace since the first half of 2009. That was almost half the growth of 19.8% in 2013 and also down from an annual rise of 11.9% in the first 11 months of last year. Mr Neumann of HSBC said more easing by the central bank will likely be needed to guard against the downside risks stemming from a wobbly real estate market in 2015. More easing will likely be needed in the form of rate cuts and injection of liquidity, he said. Fortunately, China has the tools to fine-tune growth and I expect officials to make full use of these to make sure that growth doesnt dip below 7% over the course of this year.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 09:27:54 +0000
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