China’s three percent growth rate last year is far from the government’s official target. A moderate acceleration of growth is predicted for this year.
China’s economic growth slowed significantly last year. The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by three percent last year, which is far from China’s official target of around 5.5 percent. In 2021, the economy grew by 8.4 percent.
With the exception of the 2020 corona shock, the growth rate is the weakest since 1976, when China’s long-time leader, known for the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution Mao Zedong died. At that time, China’s economy shrank for the last time, when GDP weakened by 1.6 percent.
October–December GDP grew by 2.9 percent compared to a year ago, the country’s National Statistics Office NBS said on Tuesday. Growth slowed from 3.9 percent in the previous quarter. In the second quarter of the year, growth had remained at only 0.4 percent.
Towards the end of the year, China’s economic growth was weakened by strict corona restrictions and the weakening of the real estate market.
However, the growth was faster than expected. According to a survey by the Reuters news agency, the growth rate was expected to be 1.8 percent, while of the Financial Times analyst forecast increased by 1.6 percent.
At the end of 2022, China suddenly decided to lift a large part of its corona restrictions. The effects of the rapid change are not yet clear. On the other hand, the removal of restrictions should stimulate economic activity, but high infection rates can slow down growth in the short term.
China’s economic growth is expected to accelerate this year, although there are still challenges in the economy. Some of them are the same as last year, such as the melting of the real estate market.
At the same time, the slowdown in global economic growth is also expected to affect China’s exports. Also from China historical population decline putting pressure on the economy.
“China’s year 2023 will be bumpy. China has to navigate its way through the corona waves, and at the same time, the worsening situation in the housing market and weak global demand in the export market are hitting the carts hard,” says an economist at Moody’s Analytics Harry Murphy Cruise in his comments according to Reuters.
“So far, the data supports our view that the effects of China’s opening up will be rather anemic to begin with, as consumption slows down in the early stages,” commented a senior economist at Oxford Economics. Louise Loo.
According to a Reuters poll of economists, China’s economic growth is expected to be 4.9 percent this year, and growth is expected to start accelerating in April-June. The World Bank has predicted that China’s economy will grow by 4.3 percent this year.
#China #Chinas #economic #growth #withered #historically #year
