China’s economic growth will slow this year due to floods that recently hit the nation and controls put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus, an official reported Monday, after consumer sales and other activities weakened in July. .
China’s economy remains on a “recovery trend” after last year’s pandemic-induced slowdown, but is likely to weaken after a relatively strong first half, said Fu Linghui, a spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics.
“This year the main economic growth trend will be ‘low after high’,” Fu said at a news conference.
Fu did not give any growth forecast. Private sector forecasts indicate that the world’s second-largest economy should easily achieve 8% growth over last year’s declined level.
Retail sales growth recorded in July eased to 8.5% from last year, less than the 10.9% forecast and a decrease compared to 12.1% the previous month. Industrial production grew 6.4%, less than the forecast of 7.9%.
“The growth momentum weakened sharply,” Oxford Economics’ Louis Kuijs said in a report.
The economy was hit by unusual and strong floods that hit central China in July, causing more than 300 deaths in Henan province. More floods hit Hubei province in the south of the country, killing 21 people.
Meanwhile, authorities have re-implemented travel and business restrictions to combat outbreaks of the contagious delta variant of the coronavirus. Some flights and train trips have been canceled, most access to a city of 1.5 million people has been cut off and massive tests for the virus have been ordered in some areas.
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