China has firmly established itself as a powerful economic rival to the United States and the European Union as we approach the quarter-way point of the first century of the 2000s. Like its peers in the developed world, China experienced challenges through the late 2000s and the entirety of the 2010s.
COVID-19, a variation of was first detected in China. Ultimately, China’s response of lockdowns and stringent testing would become something of a blueprint for the rest of the developed world. The rapid spread of the virus spurred the UN to declare a global pandemic on March 11, 2020.
China’s efforts to contain the spread of the virus met with mixed success. It also severely hindered its economic growth. Unfortunately, its economic recovery has remained patchy in recent months.
On Friday, December 15, 2023, China’s National Bureau of Statistics revealed that Industrial output rose 6.6% last month compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, retail sales in China increased 10.1% compared to the prior year. Like in the developed world, tough economic conditions have hindered consumer demand and negatively impacted retail activity.
Recent reports indicate that President Xi Jingping’s government has been under pressure to deliver more stimulus. On the same day as the report was released, the Bank of China made the biggest net injection of cash via a one-year policy tool on record. China will disclose its growth targets for 2024 in the month of March. Investors will want to keep an eye on the performance of one of the most important economies on the planet.
