China's economy marks slowest growth on record

Oct. 18 (UPI) -- The trade war and other issues have taken a toll on China's economy, which posted its slowest growth in the 27 years since quarterly records began.

China's economy grew by 6 percent in the third quarter and between 6 to 6.5 percent for the first and second quarters of 2019. Most analysts expect it to stay within that range for the fourth quarter. It could even fall below 6 percent.

"Actually we still believe the actual growth slowdown might be worse than the headline official numbers," Nomura analysts said, emphasizing widespread pessimism in the country.

Compare this to the first quarter of 2018, before the trade war, when China's economy grew by 6.8 percent.

"There is no doubt the downturn is serious," Varathan added in a note Friday before China released the third-quarter economic results.

A strong economy is often offered as as the justification for the Communist Party's non-democratic governance of the Chinese people.

A pork crisis is hitting Chinese consumers, and tariffs imposed by the Trump administration have slashed production at Chinese factories.

"We think they are still on track to meet the lower end of the target range for 2019, around 6.1 percent," Asia-Pacific economist at Coface Carlos Casanova. "The question remains: why is China not doing more to boost growth?"

Earlier this week the International Monetary Fund called the U.S.-China trade war the biggest risk to the global economy and urged both sides to reach a deal soon.