China’s economy grew by 4.7% in the second quarter, underperforming expectations and the previous quarter’s performance.
According to the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, GDP increased by 4.7% in the second quarter compared to the same period last year. This was lower than the first quarter growth rate of 5.3% and the Reuters forecast of 5.1%.
It is pointed out that policies aimed at stimulating domestic demand amidst the housing market slump have not been effective.
Therefore, more stimulus measures seem necessary to achieve this year’s economic growth target of 5.0%.
Every quarter, the GDP from April to June increased by 0.7%, falling short of the expected 1.1% increase and lower than the revised 1.5% increase in the previous quarter.
Amidst the housing market slump, increase in local government debt, and weak private sector spending, follow-up measures and medium—and long-term strategies for economic stimulation are expected to be discussed at the 3rd plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which began today.
