数据表明中国经济明显放缓

    周二公布的一系列数据显示，中国经济放缓的幅度远远超过之前预期的水平。

    今年前两个月，中国的工业产值、零售销售额和固定资产投资增速都远低于市场预期。这引发了对当局将出台更多刺激措施的猜测，政府或将不得不动用这些手段来实现经济增长目标，尽管该目标已经降至二十多年来的最低点。

    外界普遍认为，中国经济放缓是今年全球经济面临的最大威胁之一。美联储也将其视为美国经济复苏的特定风险之一。

    据中国国家统计局公布，今年1-2月份国内工业总产值同比仅增长6.8%，这是2009年中国经济触底以来的最低增速，而且明显低于经济学家预测的7.8%。同时，固定资产投资增速也从2014年12月的15.7%降至13.9%。

    为了减轻春节假期对数据带来的影响，中国政府会把每年前两个月的多项经济数据合并后公布。

    政府官员对于工业增长放缓的迹象普遍持乐观态度，因为这和中国的长期战略一致——让经济增长更倚重于国内消费和服务业的拉动。

    但周二公布的数据表明，消费增速也明显下滑。尽管相对于发达经济体来说，这样的增长水平依然非常高。今年1-2月份，中国社会消费品零售总额同比增长10.7%，低于去年12月的11.9%。

    China’s economy is slowing at a much sharper rate than previously thought, according to a raft of data out Tuesday.

    Figures for industrial production, retail sales and investment in fixed assets in the first two months of the year all fell well short of market expectations, prompting fresh speculation that Beijing will have to resort to more stimulus measures to meet what is already its most modest growth target in over 20 years.

    The slowdown in China is widely seen as one of the biggest threats to the world economy this year, with the Federal Reserve also singling it out as a particular risk to the U.S. recovery.

    According to the National Bureau of Statistics, industrial output in January and February was up only 6.8% from a year earlier, the slowest since the trough of the 2009 downturn, and clearly below the 7.8% rate forecast by economists. At the same time, the rate of growth in investment in fixed assets fell to 13.9% from 15.7% in December.

    China bundles many of its data for the first two months of the year in order to smooth out the effect of the Lunar New Year holiday, which can fall in either month.

    Government officials have been generally sanguine about signs of slowing industrial growth, as it’s in line with their longer-term strategy of re-orienting the economy more to domestic consumption and services.

    But the figures showed that consumption, too, is slowing appreciably–albeit to rates that developed economies would consider alarmingly high. Retail sales grew 10.7% on the year, down from a rate of 11.9% in December.