(AP photo)HONG KONG - China's economic recovery is gaining traction, with growth rising to its fastest pace in over a year in January-March. China saw its slowest growth in nearly three decades in 2016, at 6.7%. The official full-year economic growth target for 2017 is 6.5%. Real estate plays an outsize role in fueling growth in the wider Chinese economy by spurring knock-on demand in the manufacturing and service sectors. House prices will likely start cooling this year as tighter restrictions finally kick in, but Beijing will probably take steps to offset that decline with more stimulus to meet its annual growth target, Ms Zhuang said.

Source: Bangkok Post April 17, 2017 06:45 UTC