China posts weakest growth in 29 years as trade war with US bites

China's manufacturing is improving and it recently signed a trade agreement with the US, but analysts are not sure if the gains can be sustained.

China's economic growth slowed to its weakest in nearly 30 years in 2019 amid a bruising trade war with the United States and sputtering investment, and more stimulus steps are expected this year to help avert a sharper slowdown.

Fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) rose 6.0% from a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday, in line with expectations and steady from the pace in the third quarter.

That left full-year growth at 6.1%, the slowest rate of expansion China has seen since 1990. Analysts had expected it to cool from 6.6% in 2018 to 6.1%.

While recent