China: A New Year Brings Lower Expectations for Economic Growth

China's economy kicked off 2019 with signs of decelerating growth. The official growth rate for the country's gross domestic product (GDP) slipped to 6.6 percent in 2018, down from 6.9 percent the year earlier. The figure represents China's lowest growth since 1990, when Western sanctions shrunk GDP growth to just 3.9 percent. In addition, fourth-quarter GDP growth reached its lowest level since the global financial crisis at 6.4 percent....