China’s economic rise has been hailed as the major growth story for the past several decades. With the outlook for its continued growth turning bleak, questions have emerged over the world’s second-largest economy, especially whether we may be witnessing “peak China”.

There is an undeniable structural slowdown under way in the Chinese economy. Between 2010 and 2019, the country’s growth rate almost halved. Without reforms, growth is likely to slow to below 4 per cent before the end of this decade, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).