People wearing face masks walk by construction cranes near office buildings at the central business district in Beijing on Mar 15, 2023. SHANGHAI: China's economy is expected to have slowed in the first three months of the year as it continues to be buffeted by a debilitating property sector crisis and flagging consumer activity.for the year – a goal they admitted would"not be easy" and which analysts said was ambitious given the headwinds the country is confronting.
Policymakers have announced a series of targeted measures as well as the issuance of billions of dollars in sovereign bonds in order to boost infrastructure spending and spur consumption.China's sovereign credit outlook to negative, warning of"increasing risks to China's public finance outlook" as the country contends with more"uncertain economic prospects".
But the consumer price index edged up by only 0.1 per cent on-year last month, renewing deflationary fears. "Inflation is a fever of an economy, while deflation is a cancer," Ma said."A prolonged deflation will hurt consumption and investment demands."