China’s gross domestic product grew 4.9% in September from the three months a year earlier, according to data released on Monday. This marks a sharper slowdown than the 7.9% expansion reported in the previous quarter. Although China’s economy was in the first phase of a Covid revival, the latest numbers have pinpointed some of its weaknesses. A power crisis that has led to industrial blackouts, supply bottlenecks amid sporadic outbreaks of Covid and a volatile property sector under a regulatory clampdown on developer loans, are all partly to blame for the country’s latest economic troubles. .
These volatility may continue into the fourth quarter, justifying the recent downgrade of China’s growth prospects by the International Monetary Fund. Beijing’s recently announced pursuit of “shared prosperity”, while desirable in itself, could be difficult for its economy if it degenerates into communist policies that stifle enterprise, innovation and profit-promoting. Should the world’s second largest economy fail at its peak, India’s growth would appear relatively impressive. However, instead of exercising bragging rights, we should let market reforms do the talking.
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