World Bank cuts China's GDP growth forecast

The World Bank has lowered China's GDP growth forecast for this year and next year. This change is due to a sharp weakening of measures against COVID-19, as well as the continued vulnerability of the real estate sector.

For this year, the World Bank expects China's economy to rise by 2.7% and in 2023 by 4.3%.

Expected GDP growth for 2022 will be well below the Chinese government's approved target of about 5.5%.

In September, the World Bank projected Chinese GDP growth of 2.8% this year and 4.5% next year.

The bank's report stated that China's GDP growth prospects are subject to significant risks. This could be due to policy changes in response to the COVID-19 situation and the reactions of households and businesses. In addition, the uncertain outcome of the pandemic situation also clouds the outlook. 

Continued stress in the real estate sector could lead to broader macroeconomic and financial consequences.

According to the bank, China also faces a highly uncertain outlook for global economic growth and increased geopolitical tension.