China’s economic growth holds steady
Retail sales bright spot as exports contract
China’s economic growth held steady in the latest quarter, shored up by a bank lending boom and consumer spending while trade weakened.
The world’s second-largest economy grew by 6.7 per cent in the three months ending in September compared with a year earlier, data showed Wednesday. That was in line with the two previous quarters and better than some forecasters expected.
“Economic activity seems to be holding up reasonably well, with few signs that a renewed slowdown is just around the corner,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics in a report.
Analysts cautioned growth is likely to slow next year because the latest strength is based in part on a surge in bank lending and real estate prices — both of which regulators see as a risk and are trying to restrain.
China’s economy has cooled steadily over the past six years as communist leaders try to steer it to more self-sustaining growth based on consumer spending instead of trade and investment.
An unexpectedly sharp slowdown over the past two years prompted fears of politically dangerous job losses. Beijing launched mini-stimulus measures with higher spending on construction of highways and other public works.
Exports have contracted this year due to weak global demand but retail sales, especially e-commerce, are growing faster than the overall economy.Retail sales rose 10.4 per cent in the first three quarters, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.