CNBC Knows Reason For China's Slowing Economic Growth - Efforts To Fight Pollution!!

[hatrack]

Rather than blaming China's slowing economic growth on the usual property and debt suspects, some analysts are pointing the finger at the mainland's war on pollution.

"The negative impact of the anti-pollution campaign on economic growth has been quite visible," Claire Huang, an economist at Societe Generale, said in a note Monday.

"Polluting steel mills have been torn down, low-efficiency coal-fired boilers have been dismantled, and high-emission cars are being removed from the road," she said. Huang expects the war on pollution will shave around 0.35 percentage point off gross domestic product (GDP) growth through 2017, with most of the haircut coming this year.

EDIT

Whatever the cause, there's little doubt China's economic growth has slowed. In the first quarter, China's GDP grew 7.4 percent from a year earlier, slowing from 7.7 percent in the last quarter of 2013. Last year, it expanded 7.7 percent, its slowest rate since 1999 and down from 7.8 percent growth in 2012.

Ed. - emphasis added. Or maybe it isn't the reason.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101708891

[pangaia]

1. And even if it IS the reason, so what...

[hatrack]

2. But . . . growth! Sacred, holy, beneficent economic growth! Like Baby Jesus, but with money!!

[BeyondGeography]

3. And good luck fighting pollution driving 95 mph instead of 100

Those are still eye-popping rates of growth that will keep China an environmental hellhole.