The unstable international financial crisis has also made a dent in China.

In 2008, China experienced a growth rate of 9 percent; its lowest growth rate since 2001.

In 2007, the growth rate was 13 percent.

Economic growth in three months ending Dec. 31 plunged to 6.8 percent compared with a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics reported. That was down from 9 percent the previous quarter and 10.6 percent in the first quarter.

The drop in global demand has led to a wave of factory closures and layoffs, especially in China's export-dependent southeast

A string of major Chinese companies, including airlines, steel producers and insurers, have warned they will report sharply lower 2008 profits.

China