China economy slows further, matching its lowest ever quarterly growth
- Given continued headwinds created by government campaign to reduce debt and risky lending, as well as US trade war, China reportedly will set a growth target range of between 6 and 6.5 per cent for this year
The Chinese economy slowed further in the fourth quarter, matching its lowest recorded reading, last reached during the global financial crisis in 2009.
The fourth quarter growth rate of 6.4 per cent, year on year, matched that of the first quarter of 2009, according to data released Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics.
That was the lowest growth rate since the Chinese government began publishing quarterly growth rates at the beginning of 1992. The 2009 reading occurred at the beginning of the global crash in markets, which sparked recessions throughout the West.
The fourth quarter rate was down from 6.5 per cent in the third quarter and matched the median forecast of 6.4 per cent from a Bloomberg survey of analysts.
For all of 2018, the Chinese economy grew 6.6 per cent, in line with the government’s target for growth of “about 6.5 per cent” for the year. Last year’s growth rate was down from 6.8 per cent in 2017 and was the lowest growth rate since 3.9 per cent, recorded in 1990.