SHANGHAI -- China's GDP expanded by 3% in 2022, marking one of its weakest annual performances in decades as the world's second-biggest economy was battered by Beijing's zero-COVID policy and faltering overseas demand.

The country's annual growth was also well off an earlier official target of 5.5% and comes after many financial institutions ratcheted down their forecasts for the hard-hit economy. For the October-December period, the economy grew 2.9% on year, slowing from 3.9% in the third quarter, according to official statistics released on Tuesday.