China kicks off Year of Tiger on 'back-foot' but investors are cautiously optimistic

Economy growing rapidly

China is expected to recover economically this year, but the superpower is on the “back-foot” as it contends with many of the issues that plagued it in 2021 – a year marred by dire performance for Chinese equities.

Despite a strong start, the rebound seen in the first half of 2021 lost momentum and a weakening economy began to take its toll.  The MSCI China index finished in the red, down 21.6% as of the end of December, while the MSCI ACWI index returned over 19% and emerging markets -2.2%. Yet the country's economy grew by 8.1%, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China - the fastest expansion in nearly a decade before the slowdown got underway. Economic activity "cooled rapidly" in the second half of the year, the World Bank stated. It was a hot topic of conversation, part...