China’s Strong GDP Report Shows Housing Remains a Big Problem
- Retail sales figures beat expectations, jobless rate falls
- Property is ‘main concern’ into next year, Macquarie says
Buildings in Chongqing, China.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
China’s latest economic data put the government’s growth goal of about 5% well within reach and lessened the likelihood for more stimulus before the end of 2023. But the ongoing housing crisis remains a serious drag, worsening the outlook heading into next year.
While third-quarter gross domestic product figures released Wednesday surpassed expectations on strong consumer spending, the data points to difficult months ahead for the world’s second-largest economy as efforts by President Xi Jinping’s government to stabilize the property sector and avert deflation have shown little effect.