China’s delayed GDP data and a deal with the Vatican

Here’s what else you need to know about China today:

Delayed economic data is out: The National Bureau of Statistics released China’s third-quarter economic data a week later than originally planned:

• GDP increased by 3.9% year-on-year, slightly better than some analysts had expected.
• The average urban unemployment rate was 5.4% (but for those aged 16 to 24, it reached 17.9% in September).
• The total retail sales of consumer goods in September was 3.77 trillion yuan ($520.90 billion), a year-on-year increase of 2.5%, but 2.9 percentage points lower than August and the lowest since June.

The GDP data did not placate investors, however: “A sense of exasperation swept across Chinese markets as [Xí Jìnpíng 习近平] moved to stack his leadership ranks with loyalists, with stocks capping their worst day in Hong Kong since the 2008 global financial crisis and the yuan weakening to a 14-year low,” reported Bloomberg, blaming “Xi’s power grab” for the “historic market rout.”

The Vatican extended its controversial deal with China on the appointment of Catholic bishops for another two years, while committing to continue a “respectful and constructive dialogue” with Beijing.

• Pope Francis predicted the widely expected renewal in an interview with Reuters earlier on July 2, and defended the decision, stating: “Diplomacy is like that. When you face a blocked situation, you have to find the possible way, not the ideal way, out of it.”
• Critics of the deal included Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun (陳日君 Chén Rìjūn), the former archbishop of Hong Kong, who — at the age of 90 — pleaded not guilty to national security charges in court last month after being briefly arrested in May.

Chinese solar panel makers are surging, with three photovoltaic giants reporting strong preliminary earnings and forecasts for the first three quarters of this year, driven by demand for solar power in Europe.

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