Western firms are preparing for slower growth in China after Beijing said it expected growth to stabilise at 7.5% for the next few years.
The world's second biggest economy grew 7.4% in the third quarter compared with a year ago, the seventh consecutive quarter of slower growth, prompting warnings from Nestlé and Nokia that their bottom line was being affected.
The Swiss maker of KitKat chocolate bars and Nescafé coffee said sales growth in Asia, Oceania and Africa, which account for one fifth of its total sales, fell from 11.6% to 9.4%. Nokia, the Finnish mobile phone firm, also blamed slower growth in China for weaker international sales.
China's growth figure was only just below government forecasts, while a recent surge in industrial output, retail sales and business investment has appeared to put its economy on a sounder footing.
China's economy slows down
The world's second biggest economy grew 7.4% in the third quarter compared with a year ago, the seventh consecutive quarter of slower growth, prompting warnings from Nestlé and Nokia that their bottom line was being affected.
The Swiss maker of KitKat chocolate bars and Nescafé coffee said sales growth in Asia, Oceania and Africa, which account for one fifth of its total sales, fell from 11.6% to 9.4%. Nokia, the Finnish mobile phone firm, also blamed slower growth in China for weaker international sales.
China's growth figure was only just below government forecasts, while a recent surge in industrial output, retail sales and business investment has appeared to put its economy on a sounder footing.
China's economy slows down
