China's economy grew by smallest amount since 1990

(Image credit: ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images)

published 20 January 2015

On Tuesday, China reported that its economy grew by 7.4 percent last year, and 7.3 percent in the fourth quarter. Those numbers would thrill most countries, but 7.4 percent growth is a 24-year low for China's economy and 0.1 points below China's target growth for 2014. The slowdown is being attributed to a cooling real estate market, sluggish exports, and large amounts of debt being carried by companies and local governments.

Investors had expected lower numbers, and so stocks rose in Asia on the news. "Although, at 7.3 percent last quarter, growth isn't as spectacular as over the past decade, it is still among the world's fastest," HSBC's Frederic Neumann tells the BBC. China plans to buoy its economy by increasing consumer spending.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.