China’s economic slowdown worsened during the third quarter of the 2019, as economic growth slowed even more than had been expected, with GDP expansion in China falling to its lowest in 27 years.
The Chinese gross domestic product rose by just 6.0% year-on-year in the third quarter, down from 6.2% in the second quarter of 2019. Chinese GDP growth had earlier been forecasted to decline to 6.1%.
The second quarter numbers mark the weakest GDP growth for the Chinese economy since the first quarter of 1992 – the earliest quarterly data on record.
The continued slowing of Chinese economic growth comes amid weakening demand both at home and abroad, brought on in part by increased tariffs placed on Chinese goods by the Trump administration.
According to Hwabao Trust economist Nie Wen, the decline in Chinese economic growth has been caused primarily by a weakening in export-heavy sectors.
Wen added that the decline was likely to continue, pushing China’s GDP growth even lower.
“Given exports are unlikely to stage a comeback and a possible slowdown in the property sector, the downward pressure on China’s economy is likely to continue, with fourth-quarter economic growth expected to slip to 5.9%,” Nie said, according to a report by Reuters.