Mubasher: China’s economy expanded at its slowest rate in 28 years in 2018, triggering worries about the impact on the global economy.

The world’s second biggest economy grew at 6.6% last year, the slowest pace since 1990, China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday.

In the final quarter of 2018, the economy grew 6.4% year-on-year, down from 6.5% in the preceding quarter, marking the weakest since the global financial crisis.

China’s growth rate stoked concerns about knock-on impact on the global economy, while the trade conflict with the US added to the murky outlook.

Growth has been slowing for years, yet worries over the pace of the slowdown mounted in recent months as companies alarmed bells over the crucial market.

Earlier this month, US tech giant Apple warned that weakness in China would impact its sales, while auto manufacturers and other companies spoke out on the impact of the trade conflict with the US.

Chinese government has been pushing to shift away from export-oriented growth to rely on more domestic consumption.

Policymakers ramped up their efforts in recent months to shore up the economy.

Measures to boost demand include speeding up construction projects, lowering some taxes, and reducing the level of reserves required to be held by banks.

The Chinese economy was weak at the end of last year, “but held up better than many feared,” Capital Economics China economist Julian Evans-Pritchard told the BBC.

“Still, with the headwinds from cooling global growth and the lagged impact of slower credit growth set to intensify[...] China's economy is likely to weaken further before growth stabilises in the second half of the year,” Evans-Pritchard said.