China’s economic slowdown has much less to do with US policy than you’d expect

China’s economic slowdown has less to do with US policy than you may expect, the Financial Times’ global China editor James Kynge says (watch, runtime: 1:50). US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs may have hit the Asian country’s net exports figures, and yes, exports to the US fell 7.8%. The numbers are “stark,” but net exports actually account for less than 1% of China’s GDP.

It’s about internal factors, dummy: The quarterly economic growth slowdown to 6.2%, which data released earlier this week showed, was mostly caused by domestic factors. Weakening investment in infrastructure, a fall in constructing new houses, and slower than usual industrial growth have all had a much more far-reaching impact.