The slower growth of China's steel demand in 2014 and 2015 was keeping with the the country's economic development level as an industrial producer and reflected its change of economic model, said a senior official of an international industry association on Wednesday.
IMF on Tuesday lowered its global economic growth forecasts for this year and the next, saying the world economic activity is strengthening, but it remains weak and uneven as slow-burn risks linger.
Emerging economies are being challenged by an external environment that is less supportive compared with pre-crisis period and internal factors are also making growth slower in many countries, said the IMF in a new research on Thursday.
With further shrinkage in China's growth on the cards in Q1, reform will be used to fend off economic slowdown rather than an economic stimulus, economists have said.
The International Monetary Fund said New Zealand's economy is stronger, but warned the Auckland housing market and a sharp slowdown in China could still pose a threat to its growth.
While U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary path is oriented to the tightening side, most analysts believed Asian emerging economies will be quite well-positioned to deal with the market volatility caused by U.S. tapering of monetary stimulus.
China's power consumption slowed in the first two months of 2014 in a further sign of dampening in the world's second-largest economy, official data showed on Thursday.
New Zealand's gross domestic product increased by 2.7 percent last year, with growth widespread throughout the economy, Finance Minister Bill English announced Thursday.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday said there is a level of flexibility for the government's growth target at around 7.5 percent this year, stressing rather the importance of creating enough jobs.
China's latest batch of disappointing statistics have done little to ease worries over a slowing economy.
Although China's 7.5 percent growth target is the same as last years, its importance is fading as many believe the government will no longer view the figure as the necessary minimum.
Based on China's newly announced economic growth target, the country's GDP is projected to top 10 trillion U.S. dollars by 2014. This is the third consecutive year that the government has put the goal at 7.5 percent.
China's Finance Minister Lou Jiwei on Thursday called for more comprehensive understanding on the country's growth target this year instead of merely fixating on the 7.5-percent figure.
Although ascending to the spot of the world's largest goods trader is a major milestone for China's development, it is no excuse for complacency, according to experts.
China seems to have little to cheer about in recent weeks, from persistent toxic smog to an economic slowdown, according to recent reports by the Western media.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye vowed Tuesday to lay the ground for reunification with the North Korea and restructuring the economy during her remaining tenure of five-year term.
China will maintain a reasonably high growth rate this year with slim chance of a "hard landing" although its manufacturing activity contracted for two consecutive months, a U.S. economist said Thursday.
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