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China growth worries

October 21, 2014

Fresh data have shown that China is facing an uphill battle to return to more growth. The world's second largest economy logged the slowest growth rate since the onset of the global financial crisis.

https://p.dw.com/p/1DZ13
Chinese factory workers
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

China's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 7.3 percent in the third quarter, official data showed Tuesday.

While the figure might look impressive for most Western nations, it meant a drop from the 7.5 percent booked in the previous three months and the weakest pickup in the Asian country since the 2008/2009 global financial crisis.

The slowdown prompted analysts to believe Beijing would need to unveil more stimulus measures in the months ahead to avert an even sharper decline. But economists remained divided over whether aggressive action such as cutting interest rates ought to be part of the counter-measures to be taken.

Mixed picture

The weaker GDP fed speculation that China could miss its official full-year expansion target of 7.5 percent.

"The weakest part of China's economy is still the property sector," Hong Kong-based UBS analyst Wang Tao told Reuters. "We may not see improvement in sectors like heavy industry either and we expect the economy to slow down further.

China's Move Towards a Free Market Economy

But there was also a bright spot in the data released Tuesday. Factory output in China jumped by 8 percent in September from the same month a year earlier, up from August's six-year low of 6.9 percent.

hg/ng (Reuters, AFP)