Beijing has announced that the rate of growth in the last quarter of 2011 was 8 .9 percent, and the annual 9.2 percent. A sharp decline from 10.4 the previous year. Fall in demand from U.S. and Europe causing problems, mainly linked to exports.

Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - China has announced its quarterly growth rate, the lowest of the last two and a half years. The government said yesterday that China's economy has registered a growth of 8 .9 percent in the last quarter of 2011. The negative precedent was in 2009, when the economy grew by 7.9 percent. Global growth in 2011 was 9.2 percent, with a sharp decline compared to 10.4 in 2010. Some analysts believe China's economy, heavily tied to exports, is trying to avoid a "hard landing" in the face of declining demand from the United States and Europe.

China has been one of fastest growing economies in recent years. But the stimulus measures implemented by the government have created the risk of financial bubbles, and now Beijing is seeking to keep inflation in check and stabilize the growth at sustainable levels, with cuts in credit markets to prevent the overheating of investment and real estate. (1/10/2012 China’s economy, as sick as that of the US).

The figures released today show that real estate investments in China grew by 27.9% in 2011, down from annual growth rate of 29.9% between January and November. Some analysts say China must change its growth strategy, directing it to a sustainable even if slower level. "It must focus on a path of sustainable development, centred on the domestic market," said Patrick Chovanec, associate professor in the School of Economics and Management Beijing Tsingua University.

• China
• economy
• investment
• growth
• slow
• down
• exports
• market