Monday sees the release of China's GDP figures, and they'll be even more closely watched than usual. Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, blamed cautious Chinese consumers in part for his company's failure to sell as many iPhones as he hoped, sending share prices down around the globe. Car sales in the country, meanwhile, have dropped for the first time in two decades.
On the back of such evidence, investors and policymakers are becoming increasingly jittery about the state of such a crucial engine of world growth. How concerned should they be? Measuring an economy's output is never easy but China's data comes with a bigger health warning than most.Rather than 6.5%, independent economists say the GDP figure may actually be closer to 5% - or even lower. Xiang Songzuo, a finance professor and former chief economist of China Agriculture Bank, has claimed that 2018 growth may have been as low as 1.7%.
On the back of such evidence, investors and policymakers are becoming increasingly jittery about the state of such a crucial engine of world growth. How concerned should they be? Measuring an economy's output is never easy but China's data comes with a bigger health warning than most.Rather than 6.5%, independent economists say the GDP figure may actually be closer to 5% - or even lower. Xiang Songzuo, a finance professor and former chief economist of China Agriculture Bank, has claimed that 2018 growth may have been as low as 1.7%.
