China’s economic growth held steady in the quarter ending in March, buoyed by investment and rapid growth in e-commerce amid mounting trade tensions with Washington. The world’s second-largest economy expanded by 6.8 percent over a year earlier, in line with the quarter ending in December and down slightly from 2017′s full-year expansion of 6.9 percent, data showed Tuesday. It was above the official 2018 target of “around 6.5 percent.” Forecasters are expecting growth to cool this year as Beijing tries to rein in rising debt by tightening controls to cool a boom in real estate sales and bank lending. The ruling ... (full story)