China's economy grew by 2.9% in the fourth quarter of 2018, beating expectations but still underlining the toll exacted by a stringent "zero-Covid" policy. GDP had been forecast to expand 1.8% from a year earlier, according to a Reuters poll of analysts, slowing from 3.9% in the third quarter. Growth for 2022 was at 3.0%, far below the official target of around 5.5%. Excluding the 2.2% expansion after Covid first hit in 2020, this is the worst showing in nearly half a century.