China’s GDP growth down in second quarter to 7.5 per cent

China's GDP growth slumped in the second quarter this year to 7.5 per cent, according to official data today, with the Chinese leadership facing fresh challenges to stimulate and revamp the world's second-biggest economy, PTI reported.

China's gross domestic product (GDP) fell to 7.5 per cent in the second quarter this year down from 7.7 per cent in the first quarter, even as there were expectations of bailout package to arrest the slide.

According to the data released by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) today, growth in the first half of the year stood at 7.6 per cent, which was in line with market expectations and was above the 7.5 per cent full-year target of the government.

"China's economy has maintained a steady growth," Sheng Laiyun, a spokesman for the NBS, said at a press conference. The NBS data showed that, the GDP totalled 24.8 trillion yuan in the first six months.

"Major economic indicators are still within reasonable ranges as expected, but the economic environment remains complex," Sheng said. He added that the market should play a better role to bring out the economy's intrinsic vigour.

The latest GDP figures follow data pointing to  a continuous slowdown in the country's economy after China's full-year annual growth eased to 7.8 per cent last year, its weakest after 1999.

Speculation continues to be rife even in the official media whether the government  could consider a bailout package, and about its exact size.

The Chinese government had already announced a stimulus of about $150 billion last year for spending  on various infrastructure projects for reviving the economy. This came in addition to the $570 billion bailout package spent to tide over the world economic crisis in 2008.

The economic slowdown during the first year of the leadership change was pressuring the new leadership headed by president Xi Jinping who in March succeeded the decade-old regime headed by Hu Jintao.

Industrial output data for June, also released today,  was lower than forecast, having increased 8.9 per cent from a year earlier, but down from 9.2 per cent in May.

Retail sales, however, exceeded expectations, having risen 13.3 per cent in June from a year ago. May's reading stood at 12.9 per cent.

Sheng Laiyun told reporters that the data was within the bounds of official expectations, but acknowledged headwinds affecting the economy, according to The New York Times.

"Viewed overall, national economic performance in the first half of the year was generally stable," Sheng said during a news conference broadcast live on Chinese television this morning, "and the main indicators remain within the reasonable bounds for the annual forecast. But economic conditions are still complex and changeable."

Senior Chinese officials last week set the tone for a more measured approach to economic expansion by declaring confidence in government growth targets, even as they stressed the need for changes to ensure that growth.

On Friday, a meeting of the State Council Standing Committee - or China's Cabinet, chaired by prime minister Li Keqiang said that "innovation and expansive thinking are needed to expand domestic demand."

"There needs to be both effective and stable growth and also structural adjustment, ensuring that there is action while maintaining stability," an official summary of the meeting read, according to state-run media.

According to commentators, the recent slowdown in the economy had been engineered by authorities in Beijing, who were trying to steer the Chinese economy from an increasingly outdated growth model toward expansion that was more productive and sustainable, if slower.