China\'s economy grows at slowest pace in decades but tops forecasts

China's economy grew last year at its slowest pace in four decades as it was hammered by Covid lockdowns and a property crisis but the forecast-beating reading raised hopes for a strong recovery as it reopens. Beijing's rigid adherence to its zero-Covid strategy of strict containment that effectively shut the country off from the world hammered business activity last year and threw supply chains offline, rattling the global economy. The measures meant the growth came in at just three per cent last year, the worst reading since a 1.6pc contraction in 1976 — when Mao Zedong died —excluding pandemic-hit 2020. National Bureau of Statistics official Kang Yi told reporters on Tuesday the world's number-two economy had “faced storms and rough waters in the global environment” in 2022. While the figure missed the government's 5.5pc target and was well down from the previous year, it was better than the 2.7pc predicted in an AFP survey of analysts. The fourth-quarter reading also topped forecasts, providing some optimism for 2023.