China, investors disagree on economic performance

The central government has met nearly all of its self-appointed economic “key performance indicators” for 2016, ranging from the headline gross domestic product growth rate to reductions in steel and coal capacity. But congratulations, if any, are muted. The indicators showed stability and improvement – economic growth stood at 6.7% for the first, second and third quarters, ensuring Beijing will achieve minimum full-year growth of 6.5%. Meanwhile, deflation in producer prices that had persisted for more than four years ended in September, while the traditional growth engines of industrial production, investment and exports were back to comfortable levels. According to the South China Morning Post, investors are pulling money out of China as pressure continues to mount on the yuan to weaken, with stocks down from the start of the year.