China\u2019s economic growth slowed to its weakest in nearly 30 years in 2019 amid a bruising trade war with the United States and sputtering investment, and more stimulus steps are expected this year to help avert a sharper slowdown.<\/p>\n
But data on Friday also showed the world\u2019s second-largest economy ended the year on a firmer note as trade tensions eased, suggesting a raft of growth boosting measures over the past two years may finally be starting to take hold.<\/p>\n
This year is crucial for the ruling Communist Party to fulfill its goal of doubling GDP and incomes in the decade to 2020, and turning China into a \u201cmoderately prosperous\u201d nation.<\/p>\n
Fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) rose 6.0% from a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed, steadying at the same pace as the third quarter, although still the weakest in nearly three decades.<\/p>\n
That left full-year growth at 6.1%, the slowest annual rate of expansion China has seen since 1990. Analysts had expected it to cool from 6.6% in 2018 to 6.1%.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it (the apparent stabilization of growth in the fourth quarter) is sustainable,\u201d said Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have seen improvement in industry. We have seen efforts (from policymakers) to make sure the economy continues to grow, especially efforts in the financing of infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Policy sources have told Reuters that Beijing plans to set a lower economic growth target of around 6% this year from last year\u2019s 6-6.5%, relying on increased infrastructure spending to ward off a sharper slowdown.<\/p>\n
On a quarterly basis, the economy grew 1.5% in October-December, also in line with expectations and the same pace as the previous three months.<\/p>\n
December data released along with GDP showed a surprising acceleration in factory output and investment growth, while retail sales grew at a steady, solid pace.<\/p>\n
Industrial output grew 6.9% in December from a year earlier, the strongest pace in nine months. Analysts had expected growth to dip to 5.9% from 6.2% in November.<\/p>\n
Fixed-asset investment rose 5.4% for the full year, versus expectations for a 5.2% increase, the same as in the first 11 months of the year.<\/p>\n
Retail sales rose 8.0% in December on-year, compared with forecasts for 7.8% and November\u2019s 8.0%.<\/p>\n
Real estate investment rose 9.9% in 2019, slowing slightly from 10.2% in the first 11 months of the year. But growth in December slipped to a two-year low as authorities continued to clamp down on speculation to keep home price rises in check.<\/p>\n
Beijing has been relying on a mix of fiscal and monetary steps to weather the current downturn, cutting taxes and allowing local governments to sell huge amounts of bonds to fund infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n
Banks also have been encouraged to lend more, especially to small firms, with new yuan loans hitting a record 16.81 trillion yuan ($2.44 trillion) in 2019.<\/p>\n
The economy has been slow to respond, however, and investment growth had slid to record lows.<\/p>\n
Even with additional stimulus and the trade war truce, economists polled by Reuters expect growth will cool further this year to 5.9%.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
China\u2019s economic growth slowed to its weakest in nearly 30 years in 2019 amid a bruising trade war with the United States and sputtering investment, and more stimulus steps are expected this year to help avert a sharper slowdown. But data on Friday also showed the world\u2019s second-largest economy ended the year on a firmer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":69158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[110,3,11,2],"tags":[1361,5369],"yoast_head":"\n