Economics
Cement, Steel and Power Show China’s Old Growth Model Faltering
This article is for subscribers only.
China’s old growth model is spluttering.
Cement output plunged 21 percent in March from a year earlier, electricity output dropped 3.7 percent, and crude steel fell in the first quarter for the first time in 20 years. The declines are symptomatic of sliding investment in homes, the once vital engine that powered China’s economy. Property investment growth slowed to 8.5 percent in March, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday, the slowest since early 2009 when China was hit by the global recession.