It’s another challenge for China, as the world’s second largest economy revealed further woes for its manufacturing sector.
The latest index from the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing shows Chinese manufacturing dipped in January to its lowest in more than three years, a possible sign of further weakness after China posted its slowest annual growth in a quarter century.
According to the AP, the latest reading is also the lowest since August 2012 and worse than many economists were expecting. Production fell, factories cut jobs and new orders slipped.
So, is this an opportunity for U.S. manufacturing to – how should we say – kick China while China is down? Unfortunately American manufacturing has also been a bit sluggish the past few months, though economists are still forecasting growth in both the industrial sector, and in the economy overall.
But is it enough to gain any ground against our competitor to the East?
Andrew Tilton, chief Asia Pacific economist in Goldman Sachs Research, expects the Chinese government to continue its support for economic growth in early 2016, increasing spending and lowering short-term interest rates.
Goldman Sachs forecast for Chinese economic growth this year is 6.4 percent.
The U.S.? 2.2. Better than the average for developed countries, but not by much.
