The Chinese economy is still struggling with ongoing lockdowns, uneven export growth, and U.S. rate hikes. Experts believe recession or stagflation may be imminent.
Forecasts of 1 percent GDP growth fell short in the second quarter as the GDP only reached 0.4 percent. Retail sales were down 11 percent in April, leaving them 0.7 percent below last year for the first six months of the year. Car sales were down 10 percent during the second quarter while the service sector was down 0.4 percent, and youth unemployment reached 19.3 percent. Although the economy improved in June, growth slowed to 0.4 percent in the second quarter, which is the slowest pace since the pandemic started. For the first half of the year, growth was 2.5 percent compared to last year, a figure well-below Beijing’s growth target of 5.5 percent for the year….