Explainer | More bumps on China’s road to 5% economic growth in 2024: 7 data takeaways
- China’s economic growth ‘fell well below expectations’ in the second quarter, with retail sales and property investment remaining headwinds in June
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China posts 4.7% second-quarter growth, lower than expected
1. GDP slows, but not yet a renewed downturn
In the first half of the year, China’s gross domestic product grew by 5 per cent year on year, “which keeps China still on pace to achieve its 5 per cent GDP growth target for now”, said Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at ING.
Quarter on quarter, China’s economy grew by 0.7 per cent in the second three months of the year, down from a rise of 1.5 per cent from the previous three months, suggesting “growth momentum has clearly slowed”, according to Junyu Tan, a regional economist for North Asia with credit insurance company Coface.
“Weaker-than-expected official GDP figures show that China’s economy lost momentum in the second quarter,” said Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics.
“But we doubt this marks the beginning of a renewed downturn just yet – a step up in fiscal stimulus and continued export strength should provide a near-term boost to growth over the coming months.”
2. Retail sales frail
