Factory output growth hits new low
China's industrial growth slowed more sharply than expected in November on declining orders and investment stagnancy both at home and abroad, with some sectors like electricity and auto slipping into the red further, according to the latest official data.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) yesterday said industrial growth last month rose 5.4 percent year-on-year, plunging 11.9 percentage points from a year earlier. The November figure is the country's weakest in the last ten years.
The shrinking figures have also caused concern for the central government as industry accounts for nearly half of China's economy. Zhang Ping, minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, said over the weekend: "The too rapid and broad slide of industry has posed a threat to the stable development of China's economy."
