As the rest of the world teeters on the brink of recession, the last thing Western policymakers want is for China, the biggest driver of global economic growth since the 2008 financial crisis, to have a lopsided recovery. But that is what is unfolding.
After abandoning its thee-year zero-COVID policy in December, the world’s second-largest economy isn’t exactly firing on all cylinders.
China’s imports contracted sharply in April by 7.9%, while exports grew at a slower pace of 8.5% compared to 14.8% in March. Consumer prices rose at the slowest pace in more than two years in April, while factory gate deflation — prices offered by China’s industrial wholesalers — deepened.
Meanwhile, new bank loans tumbled far more sharply than expected in April, with lenders extending 718.8 billion yuan ($104 billion/€94.5 billion) in new yuan loans in the month, less than a fifth of March’s tally.
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