Beijing defies economic gloom despite underlying fragility

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China has defied the economic doom and gloom to hit its relatively modest growth target of 5%, driven by manufacturing and exports. But there are some wrinkles in the figures. Domestic consumption remains weak, which means Beijing has to rely on external demand to compensate. This is risky when the world is so volatile. China is also the world’s largest energy importer, getting half of its imports of crude oil, refined fuels and liquefied gases from the Middle East. It has large oil reserves and has plugged some of the gaps by turning to South America, but total crude imports are still down by 10% this year. One result of this may be a deepening of Beijing’s relationship with Moscow. Russian oil accounts for nearly a fifth of China’s energy imports, and despite sanctions by the US and Europe, those pipelines are flowing freely.