- The world looks to China
for signs of future economic growth
but its economy has seen a sharp slowdown.
In the third quarter,
China's economy grew 4.9% compared to a year earlier,
slowing down from the previous quarter's 7.9% growth rate.
It's another piece of bad news after Evergrande.
China's most indebted property developer
has kept global markets on edge.
So what do China's woes mean for the global economy?
The Chinese government is dealing
with a combination of headwinds.
Policymakers paired back stimulus measures put in place
during the pandemic last year.
This came around the same time
as a regulatory crackdown on the technology,
private education, and real estate sectors.
This worried investors.
Another worry, concerns about Evergrande
whose troubles have rattled markets
and raised questions about China's overall economic
and financial health.
Home sales and construction of new houses
both fell sharply in September.
There's also a growing energy crisis,
driven by soaring coal prices,
and efforts to lower energy use,
as well as disruptions to supply chains.
The question is now whether these risks
to the economy will crimp China's growth
in the final months of the year.
Beijing has made it clear
that it wants to take on long-festering issues
in the economy,
such as reining in household and corporate debt,
and pursuing ambitious climate goals.
In 2020, China emerged as the only major world economy
to report GDP growth amid the pandemic.
The government is targeting annual GDP growth
of 6% or more this year.
Most economists are still confident
that China will be able to achieve this.
Some have begun to lower their forecasts.
(pensive music)