China's 2022 economic growth slows to 3%, among worst on record

China's economic growth in 2022 slumped to one of its worst levels in nearly half a century as the fourth quarter was hit hard by stringent Covid-19 curbs and a property market slump, raising pressure on policymakers to unveil more stimulus this year.

The quarterly growth and some of the December indicators such as retail sales beat market expectations, but analysts noted that the overall economic impulse across China remained weak and highlighted the challenges facing Beijing after it abruptly dropped its zero-Covid policy in December.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2.9 percent in the Octoberto-December period from a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Tuesday, slower than the third quarter's 3.9 percent pace. The rate still exceeded the second quarter's 0.4 percent expansion and market expectations of a 1.8 percent gain.

Beijing's sudden relaxation of stringent anti-virus measures has boosted expectations of an economic revival this year, but it has also led to a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases that economists say might hamper near-term growth. A property slump and weak global demand also mean a rebound in growth will be heavily reliant on shell-shocked consumers.

"China's 2023 will be bumpy; not only will it have to navigate the threat of new Covid-19 waves, but the country's worsening residential property market and weak global demand for its exports will also be significant brakes," Mr Harry Murphy Cruise, an economist at Moody's Analytics, said in a note.