Beijing, Jan 17 (PTI) Hit hard by the zero-Covid policy and slump in the real estate market, China’s economy shrank to three per cent in 2022, registering its second lowest growth rate in 50 years in the world’s second-largest economy, according to official data released here on Tuesday. The annual GDP of China totalled 21.02 trillion yuan (USD 17.94 trillion) in 2022, falling below the 5.5 per cent official target, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.
The slow pace was blamed mainly on the strictly implemented zero-Covid policy leading to periodic lockdowns and the ruling Communist Party’s crackdown on big industrial firms besides the lingering real estate crisis.
This is the slowest growth of the Chinese economy since the 2.3 per cent registered in GDP in 1974.
