INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightGetty ImagesChina's economy grew at its slowest rate since 1990, stoking fears about the impact on the global economy.China
expanded at 6.6% in 2018, official figures out Monday showed
In the three months to December, the economy grew 6.4% from a year earlier, down from 6.5% in the previous quarter
The data was in line with forecasts but underlines recent concern about weakening growth in the world's second-biggest economy
China's rate of expansion has raised worries about the potential knock-on effect on the global economy
The trade war with the US has added to the gloomy outlook
The official figures out Monday showed the weakest quarterly growth rate since the global financial crisis
While China watchers advise caution with Beijing's official GDP numbers, the data is seen as a useful indicator of the country's growth
trajectory.Analysis: Wider implicationsBy Karishma Vaswani, TheIndianSubcontinent Asia business correspondentChina's economic slowdown is
Beijing has broadcast this for several years, that it's going to focus on the quality not quantity of growth
But still, we should be worried
Slower growth in China means slower growth for the rest of the world
It is responsible for a third of the global economy
Jobs, exports, commodity producing nations - we all depend on China to buy stuff from us.Slower growth in China also means it is harder for
China to address its mountain of debt, even with the Communist Party's undoubted ability to be able to support the economy
Slowdown warnings Growth has been easing for years, but concern over the pace of the slowdown in China has risen in recent months as
companies sound the alarm over the crucial market
Earlier this month Apple warned weakness in China would hit its sales
Carmakers and other firms have spoken out on the impact of the trade war with the US.Image copyrightGetty ImagesChina's government has
been pushing to shift away from export-led growth to depend more on domestic consumption
Policymakers in China have stepped up efforts in recent months to support the economy
Those measures to boost demand include speeding-up construction projects, cutting some taxes, and reducing the level of reserves banks need
Capital Economics China economist Julian Evans-Pritchard said the Chinese economy remained weak at the end of 2018 "but held up better than
"Still, with the headwinds from cooling global growth and the lagged impact of slower credit growth set to intensify China's economy is
likely to weaken further before growth stabilises in the second half of the year."
