IMF says slashes China growth forecast for this year to 4%

IMF slashes China growth forecast to 4% amid trade war with US, citing mounting domestic pressures and tariffs.

The IMF said Tuesday it now believed China’s economy will only grow by four percent this year, well below Beijing’s official target as it fights a mounting trade war with the United States.

China and the United States - the world’s two largest economies - are engaged in a mounting tit-for-tat trade row that has sparked global recession fears and rattled markets.

China faces tariffs of up to 145% on many products, with others receiving even higher levies. Beijing has responded with duties of 125% on US goods.

Also read | China retaliates with 125% tariffs against U.S. imports

Also contributing to downward pressure on growth in the Chinese economy are a persistent crisis in the property sector, local government debt and sluggish consumer spending.

In view of an increasingly uncertain landscape in which “downside risks dominate”, the International Monetary Fund said, the Chinese economy is expected to grow four percent this year.

The figure, which was published Tuesday in the fund’s latest World Economic Outlook report, is slower than the 4.6% expansion it predicted for China in January.