China’s economy to brace for slower growth pace as trade war with United States takes its toll
- Third-quarter growth slowed to 6.5 per cent, the slowest pace since the Global Financial Crisis a decade ago
Third-quarter growth slowed to 6.5 per cent, the slowest pace since the Global Financial Crisis a decade ago
China’s economy, which grew in the third quarter at the slowest pace in a decade, is likely to slow further in the coming months as the ongoing trade war with the United States takes its toll.
That would put pressure on the Chinese government to refresh its policies to bolster confidence, stabilise growth and stimulate investments, analysts and economists said.
“As the tariff war continues to escalate, [the] impact on business sentiment will be negative,”
said HSBC’s Greater China economist Julia Wang. “Further fiscal policy easing, particularly in the form of tax cuts, will be useful towards anchoring corporate expectations.”
Gross domestic product increased by a slower-than-expected 6.5 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier, down from 6.7 per cent in the second quarter, according to data released on Friday by the statistics bureau in Beijing. That would be the slowest quarterly growth pace since the global financial crisis a decade ago.
The deceleration came even as exports increased in the third quarter, as US importers front-loaded their orders to minimise the impact of trade tariffs. But when this pre-Christmas order surge subsides later this year, Chinese exports, and the activity of manufacturers making those products, could slow substantially, economists said.