Six months after China’s government set ambitious economic targets for the year, growth has slowed so sharply that several major banks don’t even think 3% is achievable anymore.
Growth projections have come down steadily since March, when the official target of around 5.5% was first disclosed. The consensus in a Bloomberg survey is for the economy to expand 3.5% this year, which would be the second-weakest annual reading in more than four decades. Forecasters at Morgan Stanley and Barclays Plc are among those predicting even slower growth as risks mount into year-end.
