China’s ‘economic stalling’ threatens push to overtake US as No 1 economy

Challenges abound for China, forcing it to unveil new 19-point plan as Beijing admits ‘foundation of economic recovery is not solid’

‘The global economy is not optimistic in the next few years, especially in China,’ analyst warns

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More than 4,300 stock listings in China fell on Wednesday, out of roughly 4,800, as Beijing warned of a potentially unstable economic recovery. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 12:00am, 27 Aug 2022Updated: 9:26am, 29 Aug 2022

While China is not only at risk of lagging behind global economic growth in the current quarter, some analysts say it looks to remain under greater pressure than the United States amid growing concerns of a global recession.

While unveiling a new 19-point policy package to add another 1 trillion yuan (US$146 billion) worth of stimulus spending, the State Council, China’s cabinet, warned on Wednesday that “marginal fluctuations still remain, and foundation of an economic recovery is not solid” in the country.

That same day, more than 4,300 listings fell in China’s stock market. Out of about 4,800. Only 475 rose.

It also came just one day after a leaked internal memo – by Huawei Technologies’ founder – warned of a “painful” decade ahead. The bleak economic outlook was said to have really struck a chord in the country’s business and technology sectors.

In the ensuing debate, some have argued that the domestic situation in China is gloomier than it is overseas, noting how a large number of countries maintained robust economic expansion in the year’s second quarter, far outpacing that of China.

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