China has recorded a series of weak economic data in the past six months.
China has been described as the world’s factory and the engine of global growth.
Its economic rise was once seen as unstoppable. Then came COVID. Slowed by three years of strict lockdowns, the Chinese economy was expected to roar back in 2023; instead, factories are slowing down, consumer prices are falling, real estate is in crisis and exports are in a slump.
The grim data indicates a serious economic slowdown, so much so that United States President Joe Biden has described China as a “ticking time-bomb”.
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