China’s economy grew 6.7 per cent in the second quarter, unchanged from the previous three-month period, as a buoyant property market and government stimulus boosted demand for factory output.
The latest quarterly real growth figure is slightly ahead of the 6.6 per cent pace that economists expected, according to a Reuters poll. China’s legislature approved a full-year growth target of 6.5 to 7 per cent for 2016. China’s economy grew 6.9 per cent in 2015.
Yet downward pressure on the economy remains significant. Fixed-asset investment — which includes both infrastructure and manufacturing investment — grew at 9 per cent, its slowest pace since 2000 in the first six months and down from 9.6 per cent in the year to May.
