China’s economy may have slowed in Q1

beijing — China’s economy slowed slightly in the first quarter as the government battles debt and financial risk, with US trade frictions threatening to further hobble growth, analysts surveyed by AFP said.

The world’s second largest economy is expected to have grown 6.7 per cent in the January to March period, down from 6.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, according to the poll of 13 economists ahead of the release of official figures on Tuesday.

Analysts link the deceleration to Beijing’s efforts to rein in the country’s massive debt pile and financial hazards, as well as a slowing property market.

Fears of a trade war with the US have also roiled markets in recent weeks, with Washington and Beijing exchanging warnings of tit-for-tat tariffs on a significant portion of their bilateral trade.

But the tensions — stoked by US President Donald Trump’s threat last week to target an additional

The trade tension has not impacted on Gdp growth yet Ligang Liu, chief China economist at Citibank

$100 billion in Chinese goods — have yet to cause real harm to the economy, analysts say.

“The trade tension has not impacted on GDP growth yet ... and the trade data is still robust,” said Ligang Liu, chief China economist at Citibank. “If the tensions continue, China’s trade competitiveness may be undermined, weighing on GDP growth,” Liu added.

Trade data released by Beijing on Friday reinforced that message with China’s trade surplus with the US surging by a fifth in the first 3 months of the year.

There are also signs economic growth could come in above the 6.7 per cent forecast by AFP’s survey. The figure is above the government’s official target of around 6.5 per cent for 2018. — AFP