China is home to the world’s second largest economy. Considerable concern has been expressed regarding the Chinese economy in recent years due to a combination of rampant debt and fears of overbuilt real estate markets. For now, China’s economy continues to perform. Chinese gross domestic product expanded 6.7 percent last year and ended the year on a high note.
Both Chinese and foreign economists seem to agree that the best hope for the nation’s long-term economic health is for the current emphasis on borrowing and investment to give way to greater consumer spending. As reported by The New York Times, consumer spending in China expanded by nearly 10 percent last year led by growth in online retail sales. Online sales grew by more than 26 percent in China last year.
Chinese real estate also continues to perform well, in part because the government instructed state-owned banks to expand mortgage lending. The results were spectacular. Sales of commercial buildings rose by nearly 35 percent and residential sales leapt by 36 percent last year, helping support the steel, cement and glass industries.
