China's geo-economic pivot

Amid economic troubles, China's changing geopolitical outlook opens the door for renewed engagement with India

It may appear strange that a 5.2 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in an economy as large as China (now estimated at $17.52 trillion) recorded in 2023 is considered evidence of a significant slowdown. And this growth has been achieved with zero inflation at a time when the challenge for most other advanced and emerging economies has been persistent inflation. It is true that China’s exports and imports fell by 4.6 per cent and 5.5 per cent year-on-year in 2023, but the country remains the world’s largest trading power, constituting about 15 per cent of world trade.