China data shows economic growth slowing as impact of trade war with US intensifies
- Year-on year car sales down by 11.7 per cent as consumer confidence drops
- Real estate, e-commerce and electronics sectors suffer weaker demand
The latest economic data adds weight to the argument that the slowdown in China’s economy is getting worse as the trade war with the United States dampens consumer confidence and hurts sales of goods such as cars and electronics.
The figures suggest there is growing economic pressure on China to seek a deal to end the trade war when Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump meet on December 1 in Argentina. However, it is unclear that this economic pressure will prompt Xi to offer sufficient concessions to reach a deal to end the trade war.
Analysts said that Xi and Trump could agree a “ceasefire” so that an increase in US tariffs scheduled for January 1 would be put on hold.
Chinese economic growth slowed in the third quarter to its lowest in 10 years, while data from October – the first month of the fourth quarter – indicated that economic growth had slowed further.
A slowdown in car sales, property, and consumer electronics was recorded in October. Total vehicle sales dropped 11.7 per cent from a year earlier to 2.38 million last month in the world’s biggest auto market, according the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers this month.