Anderson Klein Reports China’s 7.4% Growth Beats Forecasts
Anderson Klein says China’s economy grew by 7.4% in the first quarter beating expectations but still down from 7.7% in the 4th quarter of 2013.
China’s economy grew by 7.4% in the first quarter of 2014 beating forecasts of 7.3% but still down from the 7.7% growth it reported in the final quarter of 2013.
China’s retail sales spiked higher by 12.2% showing that efforts being made to rebalance the country’s economic balances towards a more consumer-driven model while relying less on exports are beginning to take effect.
One Anderson Klein analyst said, “China’s growth rate is still more than double that of the US, Germany and Great Britain but there are far more serious and important imperatives at work within the world’s second biggest economy,”
“Most important of those imperatives is the need for the economy to grow at a fast enough clip to create employment for the vast population or risk an escalation in civil unrest,” he added.
A slowdown in China would almost certainly have a knock-on effect on Australia and other Asian nations which trade heavily in commodities and industrial componentry with her.
“The numbers are welcome given the general gloominess that tends to cloud the outlook for China but what investors really want to see is some form of stimulus to keep the economy and, just as importantly, confidence in the economy bubbling along,” said the Anderson Klein analyst.
Policymakers have already introduced a mini-stimulus in the country in the form of tax breaks for small and medium-sized businesses as well as greater expenditure on the country’s rail infrastructure.
We remain confident that the Chinese economy will continue to avoid the hard landing that so many have been calling for over the years,” concluded the Anderson Klein analyst.
