Analysts said China’s economic “recovery is still shaky”, and that achieving the same pace of growth in 2024 will prove a lot more challenging than last year.
2. Population decline a ‘concerning trend’
The overall population in mainland China fell to 1.4097 billion in 2023, down from 1.4118 billion in 2022.
03:23
China posts record-low birth rate despite government push for babies
China posts record-low birth rate despite government push for babies
About 11 million people died in 2023, pushing the death rate to a five-decade high.
Analysts said China’s population decline last year was a “concerning trend”, while it aligned with their earlier projections.
3. Youth-jobless rate returns
The National Bureau of Statistics said the adjusted figure did not include students.
But analysts said it was difficult to gauge the adjusted unemployment data without any historical comparisons.
4. Central bank cuts reserve requirement ratio
The 50-basis-point cut to the reserve requirement ratio is expected to inject 1 trillion yuan (US$140 billion) worth of liquidity into the market.
“We’ll create a good monetary and financial environment for the operation of financial markets, including capital markets,” central bank governor Pan Gongsheng.
Hong Kong economy grows less-than-expected 3.2% in 2023
Hong Kong economy grows less-than-expected 3.2% in 2023
And Premier Li Qiang ordered authorities to find ways of attracting long-term investors to the country’s capital markets.
5. Exports ‘simply returning to pre-pandemic levels’
Shipments to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China’s largest trading partner, fell by 5 per cent in 2023, while exports to the European Union – its second-largest partner – plunged by 10.2 per cent.
China’s exports to Russia, though, soared by 46.9 per cent in 2023, year on year, while imports from its northern neighbour rose by 12.7 per cent.
“While it’s true that China’s exports don’t look promising in figures, the export surge in the past three years during the pandemic was abnormal, and China’s exports are now just simply returning to pre-pandemic levels,” said Ding Shuang, chief Greater China economist at Standard Chartered Bank.
6. Inflation hits 13-year low in 2023
The CPI reading fell in December by 0.3 per cent, year on year, while the producer price index – which measures costs for goods at the factory gate – fell for the 15th consecutive month in December and dropped by 2.7 per cent, year on year.
