China heads for a hard landing

China's economy, which has expanded 69-fold since free-market reforms began in the late 1970s, is cooling rapidly. And Beijing is rattled.

"The Golden Years have shuddered to a dramatic halt," said Stephen Green of Standard Chartered. China's economy, which has expanded 69-fold since free-market reforms began in the late 1970s, is cooling rapidly, with the World Bank pencilling in GDP growth of 7.5% next year the lowest in almost 20 years and some analysts expecting far worse.

Beijing is clearly rattled. The minister of human resources and social security said the employment outlook is "grim". Last week, China slashed interest rates by just over 1%, the steepest cut in a decade. It recently announced a $586bn stimulus package and another, aimed at bolstering consumption rather than infrastructure spending, is on the way.

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