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China economy
EconomyChina Economy

China’s economic growth worse than expected, sinking to new low of 6.0 per cent in third quarter amid US trade war

  • Economic growth was the lowest since records began in March 1992 and below expectations of 6.1 per cent
  • Other figures released on Friday showed that industrial production grew by 5.8 per cent in September, while retail sales grew by 7.8 per cent last month

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The Chinese government has set a target range of 6 to 6.5 per cent for the overall growth rate in 2019. Photo: Reuters
Finbarr Berminghamin BrusselsandOrange Wangin Beijing

China’s economy grew by 6.0 per cent in the third quarter of 2019, the lowest quarterly growth rate since records began in March 1992.

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The new low marks a continuation in a long-running slump that has been compounded by the US-China trade war, which has hit manufacturing and exports in the world’s second largest economy.

It follows second quarter growth of 6.2 per cent, which was itself the lowest on record. The growth rate was below the result of a poll of economists conducted by Bloomberg, which had forecast 6.1 per cent.

The Chinese government has set a target range of 6.0 to 6.5 per cent for the overall growth rate in 2019. Friday’s data release shows that the economy is growing at the bottom end of this range having grown by 6.4 per cent in the first quarter.

A batch of data released on Friday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) also showed that China’s industrial economy performed better than expected in September. Industrial production, a measure of output in sectors such as manufacturing and mining, grew by 5.8 per cent, above analysts’ expectations of 4.9 per cent and an improvement on August’s figure of 4.4 per cent growth, which was a 17-year low.

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Within the industrial production numbers, manufacturing output in China grew by 5.6 per cent in September, while mining grew by 8.1 per cent. The uptick in industrial growth comes after three months of decline. The trade war is certainly a factor in the slump, with a range of manufacturers this week saying that they have had to seek alternative markets due to poor demand from US customers.
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