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A woman walks her dog past a snow-covered Jaguar XF car parked outside a dealership in Beijing in this December 2, 2011 file photo. Jaguar Land Rover on January 14, 2013, plans to create 800 new jobs at its Solihull factory in central England as demand for its premium cars rockets in China and elsewhere.
A woman walks her dog past a snow-covered Jaguar XF car parked outside a dealership in Beijing in this December 2, 2011 file photo. Jaguar Land Rover on January 14, 2013, plans to create 800 new jobs at its Solihull factory in central England as demand for its premium cars rockets in China and elsewhere.
(Jason Lee/Reuters)

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Neighbours don’t let neighbours rely on the Chinese consumer alone

CARL MORTISHED

 — The Globe and Mail

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What is this thing we call the global economy? Cast your eye around the world today and what we see are regional economies moving in different directions.

The good news is that China’s economic motor is now accelerating: the latest GDP statistic from Beijing signals a rebound in the final quarter of a weaker 2012. Overall, China’s output was up 7.8 per cent last year, the weakest year for more than a decade but in the last three months of 2012, it expanded by 7.9 per cent, thanks to a late boost in industrial output and buoyant retail sales.