China registers its slowest quarterly growth pace in five years

China's economic growth waned to a five-year low of 7.3 percent last quarter, raising concerns of a spillover effect on the global economy but falling roughly in line with Chinese leaders' plans for a controlled slowdown. The third quarter figures, released on Tuesday, put China on course for annual growth somewhat lower than the 7.5 percent targeted by leaders, though they have indicated there is wiggle-room in their plan. The world's Number 2 economy grew 7.5 percent from a year earlier in the previous quarter and 7.4 percent in the first quarter. "The national economy is currently in a reasonable situation," said Sheng Laiyun, Director-general of the Department of Comprehensive Statistics and Spokesperson of National Bureau of Statistics during a news conference in Beijing. Communist leaders are trying to steer China toward growth based on domestic consumption instead of over-reliance on trade and investment, but the slowdown comes with the risk of politically dangerous job losses and policymakers bolstered growth in the second quarter with mini-stimulus measures. A further slowdown in China's economy would likely cause some damage to the US economy, the world's largest, as well as commodity producers such as Australia, Indonesia and Brazil that have grown accustomed to strong Chinese demand. On Monday, the Conference Board, a New York-based research group, predicted that China's economic growth would decelerate to 4 percent a year between 2020 and 2025, well below the widespread expectation of 7 percent to 8 percent growth over the next decade. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/7c10a55c15078be83c3d917eeb5e0eaf Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork