New preliminary figures out of Beijing show China's growth rate plummeted to a near 30-year low in 2018.<br />The Chinese government blamed trade tensions with the U.S. for the poor scorecard,... but officials there still insist they are optimistic about the country's economy.<br />Kim Ji-yeon reports.<br /><br />Preliminary data from China's National Bureau of Statistics released on Monday... show that the growth rate of the world's second-largest economy expanded by 6-point-6-percent last year... the lowest level since 1990.<br />China's fourth quarter gross domestic product grew 6-point-4-percent... the slowest pace since the 2008 global financial crisis.<br />Although the Chinese economy is facing a downward pressure... the statistics agency says the growth rate has remained steady overall... pointing to a near 6-percent on-year increase in industrial output, while retail sales soared by more than eight-percent in December compared to a year earlier.<br /><br />"Initial calculations show that the annual GDP was around 90-trillion Chinese yuan. According to comparable prices, Chinese economy grew by 6-point-6-percent over the previous year and has achieved the expected growth goal of around 6-point-5-percent."<br /><br />The agency added China's trade dispute with the U.S. has affected the growth rate but added the impact was "manageable".<br />It says Beijing was already trying to manage a slowdown under its new economic model, ... even before the trade row with Washington, by focusing more on high-tech, high-productivity and shifting away from resource extraction and low-wage manufacturing activities.<br />Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News. <br />
