China’s economy grew at 6.9 percent in 2017, the fastest pace in two years, despite policymakers making headway towards curbing financial risk from excessive debt. The country’s 6.8 percent growth for the fourth quarter locked in China’s first yearly gross domestic product acceleration since 2010. The annual figure overshot the government’s original full-year target of “around 6.5 percent” and outpaced growth of 6.7 percent in 2016.

In purchasing-power-parity terms, growth in 2017 alone equaled the size of Canada’s entire economy, according to ANZ Bank. Net exports contributed 0.6 percentage points to overall growth, the highest contribution since 2008, as a buoyant global economy boosted trade.  Entering 2017, most analysts had expected policymakers to ensure solid growth in the run-up to October’s five-yearly Communist party congress, at which President Xi Jinping strengthened his hold on power. Share this graphic Policymakers achieved this goal while also engineering a significant slowdown in credit growth, after years in which economists have warned about risks building from aggressive credit stimulus.

China’s ratio of debt to GDP fell the first time since 2011 in the first half by some estimates. “[Mr Xi] understands that China can no longer play its high growth card. Issues like debt pile-up and air pollution could cause social unrest if not a financial meltdown,” wrote Raymond Yeung, chief greater China economist at ANZ in Hong Kong.