To push China towards its annual growth target of 5 per cent — already the lowest in decades — Beijing has in recent months tried to stabilise the property and banking sectors and shore up support for the country’s stock market and renminbi.

Alicia García-Herrero, chief Asia-Pacific economist at Natixis, said the breadth of the stabilisation measures showed Beijing was responding to “cracks” emerging in the financial system.

“Mild growth of 5 per cent for the year won’t be enough, it seems to me, to cover those cracks,” she said, adding: “If the world goes in the wrong direction . . . it is going to be very difficult for China to avoid those cracks getting deeper.”

5% growth is low for China.