BEIJING: Shopping online, skipping meals out and a general sense that decades of double-digit growth are very much a thing of the past – Beijingers told AFP on Monday (Jul 15) they were feeling the pinch as the economy slowed.
Chinese authorities on Monday said the country’s economy had expanded by just 4.7 per cent in the second quarter, some of its slowest progress in years and a sign that official efforts to revive growth were not working.
The grim data came the same day as top Communist Party officials sat down for a closed-door conclave which analysts are eyeing closely for any hint of help for the ailing economy.
But on the streets of Beijing, passersby said they were not expecting growth to bounce back anytime soon.
“I think the economy is really under pressure,” Yu Qi, a 55-year-old insurance industry worker, said.
“This year, it’s really the case for everyone, whether it’s businesses or individuals, we’re really feeling that pressure,” he explained.
Yu told AFP the economic malaise felt even worse than it did during COVID-19 when crippling state-enforced lockdown stalled productivity.
“That’s the general impression that I and all my friends have,” he said.
