NE NEWS SERVICE
BEIJING, JAN 18
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 per cent from a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Friday, in line with expectations and steady from the pace in the third quarter.
That left full-year growth at 6.1 per cent, the slowest rate of expansion China has seen since 1990. Analysts had expected it to cool from 6.6 per cent in 2018 to 6.1 per cent.
While recent data have pointed to some signs of improvement in the ailing manufacturing sector, and a newly-signed Sino-US trade deal has helped revive business confidence, analysts are not sure if the gains can be sustained. This year is crucial for the ruling Communist Party to fulfill its goal of doubling GDP and incomes in the decade to 2020, and turning China into a “moderately prosperous” nation.
Birth rate hits lowest level since 1949
China’s birth rate dropped last year to its lowest level since the Communist country was founded in 1949, adding to concerns that an ageing society and shrinking workforce will pile pressure on a slowing economy.
In 2019, the birth rate stood at 10.48 per 1,000 people, down slightly from the year before, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics released on Friday. The number of births has now fallen for three consecutive years, still, there were 14.65 million babies born in 2019. Courtesy: Reuters
