Investing.com - China’s economy, the world’s second largest, grew at the slowest rate in 14 years in 2013, according to official data released on Monday.
The nation's gross domestic product grew 7.7% in the fourth quarter from a year ago, slower than the 7.8% it posted in the third quarter, China's National Bureau of Statistics said. Analysts had forecast growth of 7.6%.
For the year, China’s economy also posted growth of 7.7%, matching the revised annual growth reading for 2012.
The economy expanded 1.8% in the three months to December from the previous quarter, the statistics bureau said.
Following the release of the data government officials warned that the task of rebalancing the country’s economy was still not over, while "fundamentals of the economic recovery are still not stable."
"A long-term accumulation of problems has yet to ease and the foundation for economic stabilization and recovery is still consolidating," Commissioner of the government statistics bureau, Ma Jiantang said.
Separate reports showed that industrial output grew 9.7% on a year-over-year basis in December, compared to expectations for an increase of 9.8%.
Retail sales rose 13.6% in December from a year earlier, in line with expectations, slowing slightly from November’s increase of 13.7%.
Fixed-asset investment grew 19.6% in 2013, slower than the 19.9% increase recorded in the January-November period.