China unexpectedly released delayed economic data on Monday, a day after the conclusion of a key Communist Party congress, showing weak growth and prompting markets to plunge. Last week, China’s National Bureau of Statistics postponed the release of GDP and other economic indicators without explanation the day before their October reporting. However, on Monday, the bureau reported that gross domestic product grew 3.9 per cent between July and September this year, slightly higher than analyst expectations but still below the government’s annual goal of «around 5.5 per cent». Following the data release, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index plunged 6 per cent to levels not seen since the 2008 financial crisis, while the Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Composite Index both fell by about 2 per cent.
China’s economy has been battered by a slump in property values, rising unemployment, slower consumption and continued covid controls enforced through lockdowns and demanding resident testing requirements. Official data on Monday showed unemployment rose to 5.5 per cent in September, up from 5.3 per cent in August. However, Xi said that the global economy «needs China» and that the world’s second-largest economy has «great resilience, potential and latitude».
Is it just me or is China overdoing it with their Covid controls? Isn't what they are doing way too drastic? And it's clear that it's affecting people and their economy.
ReplyDelete