Chinese growth slides on global slump

The global economic slump has taken a toll on the Chinese economy, with its gross domestic product (GDP) expanding at the slowest pace in seven years, the government said. The latest sign of slowdown in the world's fastest growing major economy will increase pressure on the Chinese government to announce more stimulus measures, including further rate cuts. China's economy expanded 6.8% in the fourth quarter, the statistics bureau in Beijing said today. That matched the median estimate of economists, but was much slower than the 9% gain in the previous three months ended September. GDP in the whole of 2008 stood at 9% compared with the 13% expansion in 2007 that pushed China past Germany to become the world’s third-biggest economy. Urban fixed-asset investment rose 26.1% last year, the data showed, compared with a 26.8% increase in the first 11 months.