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The economy grew 3% in 2022, exceeding some forecasts, but still well below China’s official target for the year
China’s GDP expanded at its slowest pace since the mid-1970s bar the Covid-hit 2020 year, as the world’s second-largest economy struggled under tight pandemic restrictions that were abruptly ditched late in 2022.
The economy grew 3% last year, well shy of the 5.5% pace the government had targeted at the start of the year and the 8.1% recorded for 2021. The actual rate though, was better than the 2.7% predicted by the World Bank earlier this month.

Having spent much of the last three years with some of the world’s most strict Covid restrictions, China’s relaxing of its rules has coincided with a massive wave of infections just as the country prepares to celebrate the lunar new year. Tania Branigan reports
In early December with protests growing and coronavirus spreading, China abruptly abandoned its zero-Covid policy, in effect letting the virus run through its population of 1.4 billion people.
As Tania Branigan tells Michael Safi the effects have been extraordinary: in a country not well vaccinated and with limited numbers of ICU beds, especially away from large cities, it has been devastating.

Shift occurring nearly a decade ahead of forecasts heightens concerns over demographic time bomb
China has entered an “era of negative population growth”, after figures revealed a historic drop in the number of people for the first time since 1961.
The country had 1.41175 billion people at the end of 2022, compared with 1.41260 billion a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday, a drop of 850,000. It marked the beginning of what is expected to be a , despite major government efforts to reverse the trend.

Everything Everywhere All at Once stars Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan bring their A-game to Disney Plus' American Born Chinese TV series.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will meet with a top Chinese official on Wednesday to discuss the global economy and seek to deepen communications between their countries, a Treasury official said ...

Unclear what action, if any, then defence minister Peter Dutton took at the time
Australian government officials were first warned a year and a half ago about alleged attempts to , the defence department has revealed.
But it is unclear what action, if any, the then defence minister, Peter Dutton, took at the time. The current defence minister, Richard Marles, appeared to have been spurred into action when the issue hit the media about two months ago.

We would like to speak to people in China amid the country’s Covid outbreak
Experts fear that lunar new year could as people head home for the holidays.
Authorities on Saturday said nearly 60,000 people with Covid had died in hospitals between 8 December and 12 January, in the wake of the country abruptly scrapping its zero-Covid policy in early December.

Companies that reaped windfalls helping the government implement strict ‘zero Covid’ controls are now struggling to pay and keep workers.