FILE - In this Tuesday, April 8, 2014 file photo, a worker walks past a container vessel docked in Qingdao port in east China's Shandong province. China's economic growth slowed to 7.4 percent in the first quarter, raising the risk of job losses and a potential impact on its trading partners. The figure reported Wednesday, April 16 by the government was down from the previous quarter's 7.7 percent. (AP Photo/File) CHINA OUT
April 15, 2014 - 7:07 PM
BEIJING, China - China's economic growth slowed to a 24-year low of 7.4 per cent in the first quarter, raising the risk of job losses and a potential impact on its trading partners.
The figure reported Wednesday by the government was down from the previous quarter's 7.7 per cent. It came in below the full-year official growth target of 7.5 per cent announced last month.
Beijing is trying to guide China to slower, more sustainable growth based on domestic consumption rather than trade and investment following a decade of explosive expansion.
The latest growth figures add to weaker-than-expected trade and other data that have raised the possibility of politically dangerous job losses.
Weaker growth also could hurt Asian economies and others for which China is a top market for commodities and industrial components.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014