China’s economy grows much more slowly in the fourth quarter – consumption collapses

Beijing China’s economy grew more slowly in the fourth quarter of 2021. The second largest economy in the world grew by only four percent compared to the same quarter last year, as the National Statistics Office announced on Monday.

It was the lowest quarterly growth in 18 months. From July to September, the People’s Republic’s economy had grown by 4.9 percent compared to the same period last year, and by 7.9 percent in the second quarter.

In 2021 as a whole, the Chinese economy grew by 8.1 percent, the authorities announced on Monday. The high number can also be attributed to the weak comparative year 2020. Experts expect significantly lower growth for this year.

The reason for the economic slowdown at the end of the year was the restrictions imposed by local and central governments to combat the corona pandemic, which primarily weighed on consumption. Added to this were the real estate crisis, supply chain problems and nationwide power outages from September.