China's GDP Slows, But Should Get Boost from Trade Deal

The official economic statistics out of China show a decline in GDP to a level slightly lower than the depths of the global recession in 2009. China’s share of global steel production was 54.3 percent in November.

Once each quarter we publish the official statistics for Chinese GDP, industrial production, consumer price inflation and fixed asset investment. We don’t know the accuracy of these numbers, but we include them in our reports because of the importance of China in the global steel scene. China’s economic statistics are never revised, which makes analysts suspicious considering the U.S. routinely makes revisions back decades. China’s birth rate fell to its lowest level in 2019 (at 10.48 per thousand) since the founding of the People’s Republic of China 70 years ago, posing a long-term demographic challenge for its government.