China's economy is slowing down, with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stating in an event in Beijing on Saturday that the world's most populous nation's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 7 percent in 2015, the slowest GDP growth the country has recorded in 25 years, according to USA Today.
During the fourth quarter of 2015, economic growth in the country dropped to about 6.8 percent, exhibiting the weakest quarterly expansion the country has seen in six years.
After decades of rapid, massive, export-led growth, China's economy has finally slowed down, with the ruling Communist Party proposing a plan that would transition the country's economy from production-oriented growth into an economy of consumption and services, reports MSN Money.
The deceleration of China's economy, however, has affected the world market as a whole. Simply speaking, as the Chinese economy slows down, it has started dragging the international economy with it.
The International Monetary Fund, for one, cut global economic growth forecasts for the third time in less than a year on Tuesday, with the world economy projected to grow about 3.4 percent in 2016 and 3.6 percent in 2017, reflecting a 0.2 percent decline from the organization's forecasts last October, according to Slate.
Though the persistent decline in commodity prices such as crude oil is a primary driving factor, the slowdown of the Chinese economy provides the global market decline with the proverbial icing on the cake, all but ensuring that the market's plunge remains consistent.
