Cambodia Condemns Thai Military Attack on Preah Vihear Temple | Cambodia Confirms Troops Still Holding Mount Trop as Thailand Cannot Raise Flag on Sovereign Territory | Cambodia and Thailand Clashes Enter Third Day as Casualties Rise to 33 | UN Security Council Urges Restraint as Thailand-Cambodia Clashes Intensify | Cambodia Condemns Thai Aggression at UN, Calls for Ceasefire and International Intervention | Techo Hun Sen Advises Military Strategy Amidst Border Clashes with Thailand | 45 Staff Rescued After Being Trapped at Preah Vihear Temple Amidst Clashes | BREAKING: Cambodia Denies Firing Projectiles into Laos, Accuses Thailand of Disinformation | Cambodia's Tourism Ministry Seeks Aid for Troops, Refugees; Reaffirms Commitment to Peace | BREAKING: Laos Denies Border Clash with Cambodia; Cambodia Rejects Thai Accusations of Shelling Laos | BREAKING NEWS: Andrew MacGregor Marshall Claims Queen Mother Sirikit Has Died, Alleging Concealment by Thai Authorities | TOP NEWS: Trump Claims Diplomatic Role in Cambodia-Thailand Border Conflict, Calls for Ceasefire | TOP NEWS: Cambodian Prime Minister Confirms President Donald Trump Ceasefire Agreement with Thailand | Thai Military of Escalating Attacks, Despite Cambodia Ceasefire Efforts | BREAKING NEWS: Cambodia and Thailand Agree to Malaysian Mediation Amid Escalating Border Clashes | Ministry of Education Announces Postponement of 2025 Baccalaureate Examination | Cambodian Community in Korea Holds Mass Protest Against Thailand’s Invasion | Techo Hun Sen: “In Times of National Crisis, We Have No Right to Rest or Fall Ill” |
Cambodia Condemns Thai Military Attack on Preah Vihear Temple | Cambodia Confirms Troops Still Holding Mount Trop as Thailand Cannot Raise Flag on Sovereign Territory | Cambodia and Thailand Clashes Enter Third Day as Casualties Rise to 33 | UN Security Council Urges Restraint as Thailand-Cambodia Clashes Intensify | Cambodia Condemns Thai Aggression at UN, Calls for Ceasefire and International Intervention | Techo Hun Sen Advises Military Strategy Amidst Border Clashes with Thailand | 45 Staff Rescued After Being Trapped at Preah Vihear Temple Amidst Clashes | BREAKING: Cambodia Denies Firing Projectiles into Laos, Accuses Thailand of Disinformation | Cambodia's Tourism Ministry Seeks Aid for Troops, Refugees; Reaffirms Commitment to Peace | BREAKING: Laos Denies Border Clash with Cambodia; Cambodia Rejects Thai Accusations of Shelling Laos | BREAKING NEWS: Andrew MacGregor Marshall Claims Queen Mother Sirikit Has Died, Alleging Concealment by Thai Authorities | TOP NEWS: Trump Claims Diplomatic Role in Cambodia-Thailand Border Conflict, Calls for Ceasefire | TOP NEWS: Cambodian Prime Minister Confirms President Donald Trump Ceasefire Agreement with Thailand | Thai Military of Escalating Attacks, Despite Cambodia Ceasefire Efforts | BREAKING NEWS: Cambodia and Thailand Agree to Malaysian Mediation Amid Escalating Border Clashes | Ministry of Education Announces Postponement of 2025 Baccalaureate Examination | Cambodian Community in Korea Holds Mass Protest Against Thailand’s Invasion | Techo Hun Sen: “In Times of National Crisis, We Have No Right to Rest or Fall Ill” |

China's Economy Slows Sharply In Q4, 2022 Growth One of the Worst on Record

BEIJING: Jan 17 - China's economy slowed sharply in the fourth quarter due to stringent COVID curbs, dragging down 2022 growth to one of its worst in nearly half a century and raising pressure on policymakers to unveil more stimulus this year.

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

On a quarterly basis, GDP came in at 0.0% in the fourth quarter, compared with growth of 3.9% in July-September.

Beijing last month abruptly lifted its strict anti-virus measures that had severely restrained economic activity in 2022, but the relaxation has also led to a sharp rise in COVID cases that economists say might hamper near term growth.

For 2022, GDP expanded 3.0%, badly missing the official target of "around 5.5%" and braking sharply from 8.4% growth in 2021. Excluding the 2.2% expansion after the initial COVID hit in 2020, it's the worst showing since 1976 - the final year of the decade-long Cultural Revolution that wrecked the economy.

Growth is likely to rebound to 4.9% in 2023, as Chinese leaders move to tackle some key drags on growth - the "zero-COVID" policy and a severe property sector downturn, according to a Reuters poll. Most economists expect growth to pick up from the second quarter.

Beijing's abrupt lifting of COVID curbs last month has prompted analysts' upgrades of its economic outlook and a jump in Chinese financial markets, but businesses have struggled with surging infections, suggesting a bumpy recovery in the near term.

Factory output grew 1.3% in December from a year earlier, slowing from a 2.2% rise in November, while retail sales, a key gauge of consumption, shrank 1.8% last month, extending November's 5.9% drop.

Economists at Morgan Stanley expect an earlier and stronger growth recovery from the first quarter, lifting 2023 GDP growth to 5.7%.

"We believe the market is still under-appreciating the far-reaching ramifications of reopening and the possibility that a decent cyclical recovery can occur despite lingering structural headwinds," they said in a note.

Chinese leaders have pledged to prioritize consumption expansion to support domestic demand this year, at a time when local exporters struggle in the wake of global recession risks.

At an agenda-setting meeting in December, top leaders pledged to focus on stabilizing the economy in 2023 and step up policy support to ensure key targets are hit.

China is likely to aim for economic growth of at least 5% in 2023 to keep a lid on unemployment, policy sources said.

The central bank is expected to steadily ease policy this year, pumping out more liquidity and lowering funding costs for businesses, while local governments are likely to issue more debt to fund infrastructure projects.

(Source Reuters)



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