Chinese slowdown ‘threat to Party rule’

Fears are emerging that the rapid slowdown in Chinese growth may begin to threaten the stability of the country.

Albert Edwards, a London-based global strategist for Société Générale, says the economy's crash poses a threat to the Communist Party's rule.

Hundreds of thousands of Chinese have lost their jobs and returned to the countryside with little prospect of finding work.

The financial crisis and global recession has already brought unrest to the streets of Europe.

This week riots erupted on the streets of Reykjavik, following last week's violence by 10,000 protesters in Latvia and Bulgarians rallying to demand action on the economy.

China said today that its economy expanded at 6.8%, the slowest pace in seven years, in the fourth quarter.

Edwards expects the worst domestic upheaval since the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 may force Beijing into a big currency devaluation.

"The very survival of the regime depends on growth," he wrote.