BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s economy grew 5% last year, matching the government’s target, but in a lopsided fashion, with many people complaining of worsening living standards as Beijing struggles to transfer its industrial and export gains to consumers.
The unbalanced growth raises concerns that structural problems may deepen further in 2025, when China plans a similar growth performance by going deep into debt to counter the impact of an expected U.S. tariff hike, potentially as soon as Monday when Donald Trump is inaugurated as president.
China’s December data showed industrial output far outpacing retail sales, and the unemployment rate ticking higher, highlighting the supply-side strength of an economy running a trillion-dollar trade surplus, but also its domestic weakness.
The export-led growth is partly underpinned by factory gate deflation which makes Chinese goods competitive on global markets, but also exposes Beijing to…
