Business

China’s economy grew by 5.2% last year, just above the government’s target of 5%. Speaking at Davos, Li Qiang, China’s prime minister, crowed that the government had not had to resort to massive stimulus to achieve an economic rebound. However, the figure is a comparison with the low base of 2022, when GDP expanded by just 3% because of pandemic restrictions. Investors weren’t impressed. Chinese stockmarkets extended their rout from the start of 2024, despite the authorities ordering some institutional investors not to sell shares. China’s population also fell in 2023 for the second year, by 2m people to 1.409bn.