China’s economic divide is widening in era of protectionism
China's economy is showing signs of a widening divide, with record-breaking exports contrasting against a struggling domestic market. Weakness in property investment and private sector spending has led to the country's slowest growth rate since the pandemic.
Why it matters
China's economic health is a critical driver of global trade, and its shift toward protectionism and self-sufficiency has significant implications for international markets.
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Share A A A The fault lines within China’s seemingly on-track economy are swelling.
While the 5 per cent growth reported this week for the first half of this year was well within Beijing’s target range of 4.5 to 5 per cent, the 4.3 per cent growth rate in the June quarter was the country’s weakest since the pandemic.
Since the pandemic and the meltdown in its property market that overlapped it, China’s economic story has had two very different threads to it. Exports have boomed while the domestic economy has shrunk. It would appear that this year that divergence is increasing.
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