BBC Chinese recently reported that, according to the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, China’s third quarter GDP year-over-year growth rate fell to 6.5 percent. This rate is lower than the 6.6 percent Reuters estimated and is the lowest rate since 2008. China’s first quarter growth rate was 6.8 percent and the second quarter number was 6.7 percent. In the past few months, China has been taking action to improve liquidity and infrastructure investments. However, with its high debt level, the market did not turn optimistic. The Chinese stock market has been free-falling, which does not reflect the still “rapid” growth rate. Many experts now tend to agree that China’s best bet should be giving up some economic benefits to arrive at an agreement with the United States, and quickly declare success. This way, China can immediately focus on fixing some of the deeper issues in the economy. The Chinese leadership has been making positive comments to boost the market. Vice Premier Liu He recently just told the press that China and the U.S. are “in talks.”
Source: BBC Chinese, October 19, 2018
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-45915821