The latest set of GDP figures from China have confirmed the widely held belief that the economy is slowing, and slowing fast. In the fourth quarter of last year, the economy expanded by 6.8% year-on-year, the slowest growth since the fourth quarter of 2001, and significantly less than the 9% growth recorded in the previous quarter.
With global trade evaporating, China's economy must find less sustenance from exports, and more from domestic consumption. This is not a new idea - for years observers have pointed to China's over-dependence on exports. The effect of the current economic downturn is that the need for a change in focus has become more pressing.
The bad news is that...
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