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A long, slow sunset? Photo: Liu Mancang\/Xinhua via Getty Images<\/p>\n
China's economy posted its slowest annual growth since 1976, another indication the post-COVID world economy could be vastly different from the decades that preceded the pandemic. <\/p>\n
Why it matters:<\/strong> Since it burst onto the world economic stage in the early 1990s,China's economy has been a central driver of business decisions in virtually every part of the world economy.<\/p>\n Driving the news: <\/strong>New numbers from China's National Bureau of Statistics showed its economy expanded by just 3% for the full year, down from 8.1% in 2021.<\/p>\n Between the lines: <\/strong>Some on Wall Street seemed to think the Chinese government's official numbers \u2014 often looked at skeptically by independent analysts \u2014 could be a bit too rosy. <\/p>\n What they're saying: <\/strong>"It is very surprising in our view that the reported numbers for December were not worse, given the large Covid wave in the month," Goldman Sachs economic analysts wrote in a note to clients. <\/p>\n Context:<\/strong> Analysts tie the country's recent economic ills to its harsh "Zero COVID" lockdown policies, which wreaked havoc last year. <\/p>\n Yes, but: <\/strong>China's economic problems go beyond the virus. <\/p>\n What's next: <\/strong>Now, a long-predicted demographic downturn in the country has also arrived. <\/p>\n\n
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