China's economic growth slows amid credit curbs (AP)

A rally in Asia is underway this morning as Wen Jiabao, China’s premier is upbeat on China’s economy Wen Jiabao, China’s premier, has given his most optimistic assessment of the Chinese economy since the start of the year, saying that it had stabilised and that the government’s target of 7.5 per cent annual growth was well within reach.

Recent economic reports from China are, at the least, mixed. The responses to Friday’s GDP report are illustrative. From IHS-Global Insight (Xianfeng Ren): China has reported the worst quarterly GDP growth, 7.6%, in almost three years. This is a less vicious downslide compared with the Global Financial Crisis if measured by peak-to-trough deceleration, but nearly as bad as in the Asian Financial Crisis.

Authored by Richard Iley of BNP Paribas,

(BEIJING) — China‘s economy rebounded in the final quarter of 2012 but optimism was tempered by warnings the recovery could be vulnerable to a possible downturn in global trade. Growth rose to 7.9 percent in the three months ending in December as the world’s second-largest economy limped out of its deepest slowdown since the 2008 global crisis, data showed Friday. That was up from 7.4 percent the previous quarter and raised total growth for the year to 7.8 percent — China’s weakest year since the 1990s.

(BEIJING) — China‘s economy rebounded in the final quarter of 2012 but optimism was tempered by warnings the recovery could be vulnerable to a possible downturn in global trade. Growth rose to 7.9 percent in the three months ending in December as the world’s second-largest economy limped out of its deepest slowdown since the 2008 global crisis, data showed Friday. That was up from 7.4 percent the previous quarter and raised total growth for the year to 7.8 percent — China’s weakest year since the 1990s.