Chinese economy 'certain' to cool in 2019

A top financial regulator in China says it's "certain" that the Chinese economy will slow further this year but that's largely due to a "much-needed" cooling of the real estate market. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, Fang Xinghai, vice-chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said the slowdown from last year's 28-year low rate of 6.6 percent to around 6 percent is not a "collapse." The International Monetary Fund this week forecast that the world's number two economy would grow by 6.2 percent in 2019. Fang said the slowdown has been due to trade tensions with the United States and a cooling housing market. He said that the Chinese authorities have an array of fiscal, monetary and regulatory tools to deal with any setbacks that may arise: "If anything we should not over-react."