Beijing, Aug 17 (FN Agency) Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has called on the country’s richest provinces to offer economic support to boost pro-growth measures. The second largest world economy saw consumption and output unexpectedly slow down in July. “A sense of urgency must be strengthened to consolidate the foundation for economic recovery,” Li said on Wednesday. In July, retail sales rose 2.7 per cent compared to a year ago. However, the number missed forecasts for 5 per cent growth and fell short of June’s figure – 3.1 per cent. There were also record high youth unemployment, the BBC said. An uncompromising zero-Covid approach sharply slowed China’s economic growth in the second quarter of this year, the BBC reported.
In a rare move, China’s central bank cut lending rates on Monday to revive demand. China’s economy continued to recover in July, but there were “small fluctuations”, Li said in a video meeting with senior officials from six major provinces – Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Henan and Sichuan – which account for roughly 40 per cent of the nation’s economic output. The government will take more steps to boost consumption and expand effective investment, Li added. China since 2019 has been hit by widespread coronavirus lockdowns that have affected both businesses and consumers. Gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 2.6 per cent in the three months to the end of June from the previous quarter, media reports showed. Major cities across China, including the major financial and manufacturing hub Shanghai, were put into full or partial lockdowns during this period. Despite the downtrend, Beijing has so far shown no signs of relaxing its zero-Covid policy, the BBC report added. Key economic indicators show China is having a hard time shaking off the impact the lockdowns were having on its manufacturing and retail business.