When is an 7.5 per cent annual rate of economic growth a disappointment? When the economy in question is China and you have begun to rely on it growing at 10 per cent. That is the conundrum facing some economies and some areas of business across the world.
The list of potentially vulnerable sectors is long. From Australian mines to German manufacturers, many companies are learning that selling to China far from guarantees stellar top-line growth. And in a globally integrated supply chain, disappointment for these exporters is rapidly transmitted to their suppliers.
As Changyong Rhee, chief economist of the Asian Development Bank, says, “the drop in trade and scaling back of investment are part of a more balanced growth path for [China] and the knock-on effect of its slower pace is definitely a concern for the region”.