World News | China's Economic Growth Weakens Amid Construction Slowdown

Beijing, Oct 18 (AP) China's economic growth sank in the latest quarter a a slowdown in construction and curbs on energy use weighed on its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

The world's second-largest economy grew by 4.9% over a year ago in the three months ending in September, down from the previous quarter's 7.9%, government data showed Monday.

Also Read | Macabre, Popular Game in China, Sparks Concerns From Chinese Government Officials About Its 'Gory Content'.

Factory production, retail sales and investment in construction and other fixed assets all weakened.

Construction, an industry that supports millions of jobs, has slowed since regulators tightened control last year over borrowing by developers.

Also Read | Pakistan: 7 Members of Family Killed in House Fire in Muzaffargarh.

One of the biggest, Evergrande Group, is struggling to avoid defaulting on billions of dollars owed to bondholders. That has fuelled fears about the health of other developers, though economists say the threat to global financial markets is small.

Manufacturing also was hampered in September by power cuts imposed by some major provinces to avoid exceeding official efficiency goals.

Private sector forecasters have cut their growth outlook this for China, though they still expect about 8%, which would be among the world's strongest. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)