The world’s second-biggest economy hasn’t grown so slowly since 1990, aside from the pandemic years.
ADVERTISEMENTThe World Bank is predicting a growth rate of 5.1% for China’s economy this year, while cutting next year's outlook.
China’s economy hasn’t grown so slowly since 1990, besides the unprecedented years of 2020 and 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
While the rate for 2023 remains unchanged, the bank has downgraded its growth forecast for China for 2024. Beijing’s economy is expected to expand 4.4% and not 4.8% as the organisation had predicted earlier this year.
China’s faltering post-COVID bounce, elevated debt, weakness in the property sector and structural factors, such as ageing, were the reasons the World Bank cited for the downgrade.
For the East Asia and Pacific region as a whole, the institution predicts an expansion of 5% in 2023. Despite being slightly lower than previously projected, “regional growth this year is higher than average growth expected for all other emerging market and developing economies”, according to the bank.
For next year, the bank lowered its regional expansion outlook from 4.8% to 4.5%, dragged down by a sluggish global economy, high interest rates and trade protectionism.
China’s persistent domestic difficulties also clearly influence what happens in the region. “A 1% reduction in the country’s growth is associated with a reduction in regional growth by 0.3 percentage points”, the World Bank report read.
