2018 China growth slowest in 28 yearsBy The Manila Timeshome/Business/Top Business/2018 China growth slowest in 28 yearsBEIJING: China’s economy grew at its slowest pace in almost three decades in 2018, losing more steam in the last quarter as it battles a massive debt pile and a US trade war, official data showed Monday. China hit the brakes on major projects such as subway lines and motorways to keep a lid on debt last year, with infrastructure investment rising by just 3.8 percent, down from 19 percent the year before. Fourth quarter GDP growth slowed as expected, said Lu Ting, China economist at Nomura, in a note. Retail sales growth slowed to 9.0 percent, down from a 10.2 percent increase the previous year. “Growth will remain under pressure in the coming months and policymakers will aim to halt the slowdown in growth, rather than try to engineer a significant pick-up in growth,” said Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics.

Source: Manila Times January 21, 2019 16:30 UTC