# But that was before

**Published by:** [DoretheaAiporl1](https://paragraph.com/@aporro/)
**Published on:** 2022-07-22
**URL:** https://paragraph.com/@aporro/but-that-was-before

## Content

But that was before the world's second-largest economy began slowing down. China's economy grew only 0.4% in the second quarter 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, a bruising regulatory crackdown on the private sector, and a real estate crisis 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, 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 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 sparked a fresh stock sell-off.

## Publication Information

- [DoretheaAiporl1](https://paragraph.com/@aporro/): Publication homepage
- [All Posts](https://paragraph.com/@aporro/): More posts from this publication
- [RSS Feed](https://api.paragraph.com/blogs/rss/@aporro): Subscribe to updates
- [Twitter](https://twitter.com/DoretheaAiporl1): Follow on Twitter