China's big slowdown

The engine of global growth for 30 years is slowing

The growth of gross domestic product (GDP) in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has slowed to 6.6 per cent in 2018 — which is a remarkable low for that country; in fact, it is the lowest that GDP growth has been since as long ago as 1990. Fourth-quarter growth (year-on-year) was 6.4 per cent, indicating that the economy was decelerating. The GDP growth figure was flattered by a decision to revise 2017 growth downwards, meaning there was a positive base effect. In any case, Chinese growth numbers have always been questioned. As such, this relatively low figure might conceal