Small Chinese businesses are feeling the effects of the government’s monetary tightening and face a cash squeeze that may be worse than during the global financial crisis in 2008, according to a warning from a state-backed body.
From Shanghai to Hong Kong, smaller businesses have driven Chinese growth over the past two decades, accounting for about 60 per cent of gross domestic product. A sharp downturn in activity would weigh heavily on the global economy.
The world has become increasingly reliant on China as an engine of growth over the past two years, so a deepening Chinese slowdown at the same time as a faltering recovery in the US and Europe would be particularly worrisome.