China annual GDP growth of 6.9% lowest since 1990 - FT.com

China annual GDP growth of 6.9% lowest since 1990 - FT.com




"............... Despite the respectable headline growth figure, pain is deepening in the sectors that have traditionally driven Chinese growth and global commodity demand. Without adjusting for inflation, growth in industry and construction was a paltry 0.9 per cent for the full year, a sign that nearly four years of producer-price deflation has ravaged cash flow in the factory sector.

Overall, nominal GDP grew just 5.8 per cent in the fourth quarter and 6.4 per cent for the full year, implying that the overall economy is in deflation. ................."







".........The country’s leadership has promised structural reforms to boost long-term growth. President Xi Jinping has said that policy in 2016 will focus on “supply-side reforms”, including shuttering zombie businesses in industries such as steel and shipbuilding that are rife with excess capacity. Authorities have also pledged to streamline the bloated state-owned enterprise sector, whose return on assets lags behind the private economy. .........."