Deutsche Welle (English edition)
China's economy slowed at end of 2021 amid COVID outbreaks
The Chinese economy was shaken by a series of shocks towards the end of 2021, including a spate of virus outbreaks, a property market slump and far-reaching regulatory crackdowns on some sectors.
China's economy grew by 8.1% in 2021, beating forecasts but slowing down in the final months of the year, according to official data released Monday.
The world's second-largest economy expanded at its weakest pace in a year-and-a-half in the final quarter, as it faced headwinds from regulatory curbs, property sector woes, and renewed COVID-19 outbreaks.
What did the latest data show?
The economy was off to a strong start in 2021, rebounding from a pandemic-induced slump the previous year.
China posted record growth of 18.3% in the first quarter, compared to the previous year, and
7.9% in the second quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics data showed.
But it faced an abrupt slowdown in the second half, growing by 4.9% in the third quarter and further weakening to 4.0% in the October-December period.
Central bank cuts interest
rat hina's central bank on Monday unexpectedly cut a key interest rate for the first time since the height of the pandemic.
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said it was lowering the interest rate on 700 billion yuan ($110.2 billion; €96.60 bil
lion) worth of one-year mediumterm lending facility (MLF) loans to some financial institutions to 2.85% from 2.95% in previous operations.
China's 'zero-COVID' policy The country's economic recovery also has been hampered by renewed coronavirus outbreaks, which prompted Chinese leaders to impose strict border controls or targeted lockdowns on cities including Tianjin, a manufacturing center.
"Economic momentum remains weak amid repeated virus outbreaks and a struggling property sector," Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
Birth rate decline
China's birth rate dropped to a record low in 2021, official data showed Monday, as experts warned of the economic consequences of a faster-thanexpected aging population.
The birth rate in the country slipped to 7.52 births per 1,000 people, data from the National
eC Bureau of Statistics showed.
This was down from 8.52 in 2020 and the lowest rate since comparative records began in 1978.
adi/ (Reuters,
use of slots provided in the Slot Regulation in case of an unexpected event. This would mean that if an airline could not fulfill its take-off or landing slot because of a valid reason, an exemption would be granted and the carrier can still keep its slot.
"So far I have not seen any evidence of an airline having empty flights," he added. He said if airlines were flying empty planes, it would not be because of the decision taken by the Commission but commercial reasons on the airline’s part.
Use slot or give it up: Wizz Air
Wizz Air CEO Jozsef Varadi said if a company was not able to operate its slots it should be made available to rivals, adding that the slot rules should not be changed to protect legacy airlines. Legacy airlines such as British Airways, Emirates, and Lufthansa offer the full package of international and domestic flights.
"We would be able to operate those slots at constrained airports, so why are they protected for the benefit of legacy carriers who are incapable of operating them because they are inefficient?" Varadi recently told Reuters in an interview.
Varadi, who has been in charge of Wizz Air since its inception in 2003, said easing the rules was, in a way, "distorting the market" because it protected legacy carriers struggling to fill planes from lowercost rivals that could sell all their seats.
He said access to airports should be prioritized in the public interest.
Meanwhile, CEO of Ryanair Michael O'Leary claimed Lufthansa was trying to hamper rivals. O'Leary also accused Lufthansa of exploiting climate concerns to stifle competition.
"Instead of operating empty flights just so they can block slots, Lufthansa should release the seats on these flights for sale at low fares to reward the German and European taxpayers who have subsidized it with billions of euros during the COVID crisis," O'Leary said in a statement.