A Look Behind China's Growth Numbers

07:22

January 22, 2014

A container ship arrives at the port of Qingdao, in northeast China's Liaoning province on January 20, 2014. China's economy last year registered flat growth of 7.7 percent, maintaining its slowest expansion in more than a decade. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

On Monday, China released its highly-anticipated economic growth data. Growth for the full year was 7.7 percent, overall indicating a very different, more mature phase of economic growth in China.

NPR international correspondent Frank Langfitt joins Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson to discuss what these and other figures mean for China's future infrastructure projects, government and local debt.

On a related note, Hobson was in Shanghai recently and shares a bit about his trip, including the experience of arriving at the airport at the same time as South Korean actor Park Si-hoo (see video below).

Guest

Frank Langfitt, Shanghai correspondent for NPR. He tweets @franklangfitt.

This segment aired on January 22, 2014.