China’s economic growth weakens amid construction slowdown

China’s economic growth sank in the latest quarter as a slowdown in construction and curbs on energy use weighed on its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

The world’s second-largest economy grew by 4.9 per cent when compared to a year ago in the quarter ending in September 2021, down from the previous quarter’s 7.9 per cent, government data showed on Monday.

Factory production, retail sales and investment in construction and other fixed assets all weakened.

Construction, an industry that supports millions of jobs, has slowed since regulators tightened control last year over borrowing by developers.

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One of the biggest construction companies, Evergrande Group, is struggling to avoid defaulting on billions of dollars owed to bondholders. This has fuelled fears about the health of other developers, though economists say the threat to global financial markets is small.

Manufacturing was also hampered in September by power cuts imposed by some major provinces to avoid exceeding official efficiency goals.

Private sector forecasters have cut their growth outlook this for China, though they still expect about 8 per cent, which would be among the world’s strongest.