China 2015 growth slows to weakest for 25 years

AFP, BEIJING: China's GDP grew at its slowest in a quarter of a century last year, creating pressure for more stimulus policies to ensure a soft landing for the economy that is a crucial driver of global growth.
The 6.9 per cent figure was the slowest in the People's Republic since the 3.8 per cent of 1990, a year after the bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown rocked the country and isolated it internationally.
But while the outcome is much smaller than the double-digit rates seen before the financial crisis, it is seen as the "new normal" and within Beijing's target range as it looks to recalibrate the economy to a more sustainable model.
The data -- in line with a median forecasts in an AFP survey -- was welcomed by strong gains on markets in China and across Asia and Europe as dealers bet on a new round of monetary easing measures, including more interest rate cuts.
Global markets have been hammered in recent weeks by worries over China, the world's number two economy, wiping trillions off valuations.
"Expectations for further cuts in interest rates and banks' reserve ratios increased after the economic figures," Zhang Gang, an analyst at Central China Securities, told AFP.
China's leaders -- who targeted growth of "about seven per cent" -- are looking to transform the economy away from the investment and exports of the past to one more oriented towards domestic consumer demand.
The services sector accounted for 50.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2015, the first time it was more than half the economy, the National Bureau of Statistics said as it released the figures.
The structural transformation was still underway, it added, calling it "a crucial period during which challenges need to be overcome and problems need to be resolved".

 

China 2015 growth slows to weakest for 25 years

AFP, BEIJING: Chinas GDP grew at its slowest in a quarter of a century last year, creating pressure for more stimulus policies to ensure a soft landing for the economy that is a crucial driver of global growth. The 6.9 per cent figure was the slowest in the Peoples Republic since the 3.8 per cent of 1990, a year after the bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown rocked the country and isolated it internationally. But while the outcome is much smaller than the double-digit rates seen before the financial crisis, it is seen as the new normal and within Beijings target range as it looks to recalibrate the economy to a more sustainable model. The data -- in line with a median forecasts in an AFP survey -- was welcomed by strong gains on markets in China and across Asia and Europe as dealers bet on a new round of monetary easing measures, including more interest rate cuts. Global markets have been hammered in recent weeks by worries over China, the worlds number two economy, wiping trillions off valuations. Expectations for further cuts in interest rates and banks reserve ratios increased after the economic figures, Zhang Gang, an analyst at Central China Securities, told AFP. Chinas leaders -- who targeted growth of about seven per cent -- are looking to transform the economy away from the investment and exports of the past to one more oriented towards domestic consumer demand. The services sector accounted for 50.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2015, the first time it was more than half the economy, the National Bureau of Statistics said as it released the figures. The structural transformation was still underway, it added, calling it a crucial period during which challenges need to be overcome and problems need to be resolved.