China’s Economy Stumbles in Second Quarter

China’s economy stumbled in the second quarter, just as the country’s top leaders gathered for a key meeting to address its sluggish growth.

It grew 4.7 per cent in the three months to June, falling short of expectations after a stronger start in the first three months of 2024.

The government’s annual growth target is around 5 per cent.

The world’s second-largest economy is facing a prolonged property crisis, steep local government debt, weak consumption and high unemployment.

The country is seeking solutions from the meeting under way in Beijing, also called the Third Plenum.

Past outcomes of the Plenum have changed the course of history in China – in 1978, then leader Deng Xiaoping began opening China’s markets to the world, and in 2013 President Xi Jinping hinted at loosening the controversial one-child policy.