Slow growth becomes ‘new normal’ for Chinese economy

World Today

China’s economy is in a new normal and the annual economic data from 2014 supported the fact that the world’s second biggest economy is entering an era of slower growth. CCTV’s Yang Chengxi reported this story from Beijing.

China’s overall GDP growth rate for 2014 slowed to 7.4 percent, which marks the slowest pace of expansion since the year 1990.

“Global recovery is still slow. In China, economic growth rate is shifting gear to a lower range. Structural reforms are deepening,” Ma Jiantang, head of the National Bureau of Statistics, said. “Also, the country is digesting the effects of previous stimulus policies. All these factors contributed to downward pressures on our economy in 2014.”

However, China’s policy makers have said the country is aiming to move beyond just meeting targets, and they plan to make 2015 a year of reform: sacrificing some of the growth’s speed in exchange for a better quality growth model.

Still, in the face of downward pressure on China’s economy most financial institutions believe the government will roll out more stimulus measures early this year.