China growth beats expectations, but still weakJuly 15, 2015 - 09:02 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Growth in the world's second largest economy, China, beat expectations in the second quarter, but it was still the weakest showing since the global financial crisis, BBC News reports. The economy grew 7% from a year ago - matching growth in the first three months of the year, which was the lowest since 2009 when it fell to 6.6%. A weaker property market and factory production have hampered growth. But, Beijing has rolled out a series of stimulus measures amid the slowdown. The central bank cut interest rates for the fourth time since November last month to boost economic activity. Economists are, however, continuing to call for more easing despite the better-than-expected numbers as volatility in the stock markets has sparked concerns of financial turmoil in the country. Growth was expected to dip below the 7% mark and come in at 6.9% for the April to June quarter. Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian economic research at HSBC expects more fiscal and monetary easing in the coming months in order for China to achieve sustainable growth. "Stimulus measures rolled out over the past nine months are beginning to show some traction. But work remains to be done," he told the BBC. "The sell-off in the stock market will likely necessitate further easing in the coming months." On a quarterly basis, the economy expanded 1.7% from April to June, compared to the 1.4% revised figure in the first quarter. The government has also had to respond to suggestions that the better data may have been "inflated". The National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday, July 15, that the data reflecting the positive changes in the economy was "hard won", and accurate. Industrial production and retail sales in June were all above forecasts, while fixed-asset investment, a major driver of the economy, also beat expectations in the period. Related links: Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | European Parliament to discuss repression in Azerbaijan The European Parliament will discuss repression of civil society in Azerbaijan on April 24 PACE wants concessions from Azerbaijan to accept Baku back A PACE co-rapporteur said that Azerbaijani authorities must make certain concessions so that the country can return to PACE. Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. |