China’s GDP expands 5.2% in Q4, misses market forecast

News Snapshot:

Official statistics released on Wednesday indicated that China’s economy grew 5.2% in the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier, slightly below experts’ projections but still allowing Beijing to exceed its annual growth target. Due to a number of policy support measures, analysts had anticipated that the gross domestic product (GDP) would rise at a faster rate than it did in the third quarter (4.9%). However, they have cautioned that further stimulus may be required to move the economy onto a more sustainable path. The second-largest economy in the world has failed to recover strongly from the COVID-19 pandemic because...