Chinese economic growth slows in third quarter
Economic growth in China slowed to 4.9 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter, according to data released on Monday by the statistics office.
The third quarter figures are the weakest so far this year.
China had posted record growth of 18.3 per cent in the first quarter and 7.9 per cent in the second one.
Taken together, growth from January to the end of September came to 9.8 per cent.
After having overcome the coronavirus pandemic, China’s economy initially recovered strongly.
Most recently, however, economists warned of a whole series of factors that could have a negative impact on the Chinese economy and on foreign firms doing business locally.
China’s energy shortage, which has already forced industrial companies to cut back on their production in the past few weeks, was named as a risk.
The energy problems are likely to worsen with the upcoming winter season and will last “until at least March,” the chairman of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China, Joerg Wuttke, warned.
He said companies needed to be patient, describing the situation as “a marathon, not a sprint.”
A spokesman for the Beijing Bureau of Statistics on Monday tried to allay concerns over the economic consequences of the energy crisis.
He said the authorities had taken measures to secure the power supply and keep electricity prices stable.
As these measures gradually take effect, power shortages will be eased and their impact on economic operations mitigated, Fu Linghui said, according to state news agency Xinhua.
Analysts have also cited the crisis surrounding the heavily indebted Evergrande group as a cause for concern, saying that the Chinese real estate giant’s woes are weighing on the country’s financial and real estate market.
Other economic data presented on Monday was mixed. Industrial production, a measure of activity in the manufacturing sector, increased by 3.1 per cent in September year-on-year. In August that sector posted 5.3-per-cent growth.
Retail sales rose 4.4 per cent after increasing 2.5 per cent year-on-year in August.
Source: GNA