# But that was before

By [DoretheaAiporl1](https://paragraph.com/@aporro) · 2022-07-22

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But that was before the world's second-largest economy began slowing down.

China's economy [grew only 0.4% in the second quarter](https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/14/economy/china-q2-gdp-2022-intl-hnk/index.html) from a year ago, the worst performance since early 2020. Consumer spending is weak, while unemployment is rising. Policymakers now face mounting challenges to keep growth steady, as the country contends with a sharp slowdown in activity due to Beijing's [stringent zero-Covid policy](https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/30/opinions/zero-covid-china-five-years-huang/index.html), a bruising regulatory crackdown on the private sector, and [a real estate crisis](https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/14/economy/china-property-crisis-homebuyers-bad-debt-intl-hnk/index.html) that is causing rising bad debts at banks and growing social protests.

Concerned about the worsening outlook, Beijing has signaled that it will [relax its yearlong crackdown on the tech sector](https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/07/investing/china-tech-stocks-rally-crackdown-over-intl-hnk/index.html), long a key growth driver and the main source of well-paid employment.

In recent weeks, top government officials have tried to [lift the spirits of the internet industry](https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/07/investing/china-tech-stocks-rally-crackdown-over-intl-hnk/index.html) and pledged to support tech companies that seek to list in overseas markets.

But market confidence remains fragile. Last week, the State Administration for Market Regulation said it had fined a number of technology companies for violating anti-monopoly rules on the disclosure of transactions. [The news immediately](https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/11/investing/chinese-stocks-covid-macao-casinos-tech-intl-hnk/index.html) sparked a fresh stock sell-off.

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*Originally published on [DoretheaAiporl1](https://paragraph.com/@aporro/but-that-was-before)*