China's economy slowed dramatically at the end of 2008 as the full force of the global crisis hit home, dragging growth to a seven-year low, official data showed on today.

The world’s third-largest economy expanded by just 6.8% in the final quarter, pulling the full-year growth figure down to 9.0%, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

Coming after 13.0% growth in 2007, the figures offered the most complete picture yet of just how severely the world crisis has hit the country’s export-dependent economy.

South China Morning Post