China’s economy shows little change in November

Given the state of the real estate industry, current policies are unable to stabilize growth.

Photo by Fan Jianlei

Photo by Fan Jianlei

By XIN Yuan

 

In November, the national economy continued to rebound among general instability. Domestic demand remains insufficient, as is the foundation for economic recovery.

XU Tianchen of the Economist Intelligence Unit stated that the economy in November showed signs of weak stabilization, with variations in different economic activities.

Against last year’s low base, consumption growth in November increased significantly, but retail sales are still far below the pre-pandemic level.

Analyst WANG Qing believes that the current growth is slightly lower than the potential level, and insufficient demand is the main constraint. Promoting consumption is one of the most effective measures to address insufficient demand.

From January to November, infrastructure investment (excluding electricity) increased by 5.8 percent year-on-year.

Wang said fiscal policies have helped a little to stabilize growth and require the support of more bank loans.

Infrastructure spending in December is expected to stabilize slightly. Policy takes time to work and, coupled with a weak land market and debt risk, spending will continue to decline in the medium term.

From January to November, real estate investment decreased by 9.4 percent year-on-year, much more than last year, and its drag on the economy has increased correspondingly.

Manufacturing investment rose by 6.3 percent. The resilience of manufacturing is due to government support and investment in upgrades. With the low base, growth of industrial value-added is at a new high since March and will remain around 6.5 percent in December.

As for specific industries, in November, growth rates in car making, railways, shipbuilding, aerospace and other transportation equipment manufacturing were o double digits, with value-added growth in the automotive manufacturing industry reaching 20.7 percent.