China says its economy is ‘resilient’, rejects Western concerns

BEIJING (Reuters): China’s economy is resilient and has not collapsed, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Tuesday, rejecting claims from the West that its economy is faltering and could cause wider problems.

Officials from countries including Australia and the United States have publicly raised concerns about the world’s second-largest economy.

US President Joe Biden called China’s economic situation a “crisis” while Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers said a slowing Chinese economy could in turn weigh on Australia’s.

“It seems that there will be various theories of China’s collapse every once in a while,” Mao Ning, a ministry spokesperson, told a regular news briefing.

“The fact is that China’s economy has not collapsed,” Mao added, without naming Biden or Chalmers.

She said China’s economy had great potential and that the fundamentals of long-term improvement had not changed.

“We are confident and capable of promoting sustained and healthy economic development,” Mao added.

China’s economic recovery following three years’ harsh COVID-19 restrictions has lost momentum after a brisk start in the first quarter, gripped by weak consumer spending and a deepening property downturn.

Analysts polled by Reuters said the economy would grow 5.0 per cent this year, lower than 5.5pc forecast in a July survey.