China’s post-COVID rebound has lost steam as the leaders have not been capable of restoring confidence in the economy. We should get used to weak growth numbers although geopolitical risks could be tamed ahead of the APEC Summit in November. China’s GDP growth slowed down to 0.8% q/q in April-June (2.2% in January-March). However, due to the base effects from the Shanghai lockdown in the spring of 2022, the annual growth rate peaked at a high level of 6.3%. It seems that the leaders have not been capable of restoring confidence among the Chinese households after the pandemic. Although many service sectors have ... (full story)