Mei Xinyu, an associate researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce, told Beijing Review that he foresaw no real rebound in trade until at least the third quarter this year if the world economy stabilized.

Housing prices

Housing prices in China's 70 major cities fell by a record 1.2 percent year on year in February, the biggest drop since the data were first recorded in 2005.

The gloomy economic outlook and expectations of further price drops discouraged buyers. In Shenzhen, where home prices rose the fastest when the economy was buoyant, prices fell at the fastest speed of 16.3 percent in February, as the export hub's economy was weighed down by diminishing international demand.

Falling home prices forced developers to tighten their belts to get through tough years ahead.

Executives at real estate companies voluntarily slashed their salaries as part of their cost-saving efforts. Vanke's 2008 annual report said the salary of its president, Wang Shi, would be cut to 2.48 million yuan ($363,000) in 2009, one third of what he earned last year. Other top managers in the company followed suit.

Bank loans

China's banks increased their renminbi loans by 1.07 trillion yuan ($156 billion) in February, up 827.3 billion yuan ($121 billion) from the same period last year, said the central bank.

This was the second consecutive month to see an outpouring of new yuan-denominated loans. New loans hit a record 1.62 trillion yuan ($237 billion) in January, twice as much as the amount issued during the same period last year.

As part of its stimulus package, the government is encouraging commercial banks to increase the number of loans they issue, especially to small and medium-sized enterprises. Premier Wen Jiabao's work report set a target of 5 trillion yuan ($731.5 billion) in new yuan-denominated loans for this year.

Fixed assets investment

China's urban fixed assets investment in the first two months of the year rose 26.5 percent year on year to 1.03 trillion yuan ($150 billion), said the NBS.

The pace of growth was higher than the same period in 2008, when urban fixed assets investment grew 24.3 percent. It was also higher than the 26.1-percent annual growth last year.

Retail sales

China's retail sales grew by 15.2 percent in the first two months of the year for a total of 2 trillion yuan ($294 billion), according to the NBS. It was slower than the 21.6-percent annual growth rate in 2008.

More QFIIs

The China Securities Regulatory Commission's (CSRC) approval of three new qualified foreign institutional investors (QFIIs) will inject more money into China's capital market.

In February, the securities watchdog issued its first licenses of the year to three new QFIIs, including South Korea's Hanwha Investment Trust Management Co., Emerging Markets Management LLC of the United States, and DWS Investment SA, the mutual fund arm of Deutsche Asset Management International GmbH.

The addition of the three new firms boosted the number of QFIIs to 79 from 76. The QFII scheme is the only way that foreign financial institutions can invest in mainland yuan-denominated stock markets.

In the meantime, many domestic economists expect the Chinese economy to be the first to bottom out, as reflected in its recent stock market rally. The Shanghai Composite Index, the benchmark index of the mainland stock market, has gained about 17 percent so far this year. During the same time, the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 23 percent, while the Japanese Nikkei 225 dipped about 18 percent.