China's Economy Faces Internal and External Challenges to Maintain Growth

China, amid internal and external economic challenges, is facing difficulty in maintaining the momentum of its economic growth; the country’s economy grew at a slower-than-expected pace in the second quarter. China’s National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday that the economy grew 4.3 percent in the quarter ended June 30, compared with the same period last year. According to CNN, the figure fell short of analysts’ expectations for 4.5 percent growth and is one of the few instances that clearly points to weakness in China’s economy—a country that has spent years trying to sustain industrial activity through infrastructure investment and massive exports. The weaker-than-expected data suggests that the slump in domestic consumption has outweighed the recent improvement in China’s exports. Rising energy costs during the Iran war have helped China emerge from one of its longest periods of deflation (a sustained decline in prices), while the country continues to grapple with industrial overcapacity and weak domestic demand. At the same time, Beijing has remained somewhat insulated from widespread supply-chain disruptions