UBS cut their growth forecasts for China from 5.2pc to 4.8pc this year, and from 5pc to 4.2pc next year.

Citi, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank and Nomura also all cut their predictions.

President Xi Jinping’s 5pc target, set out in March, was already the lowest growth target in decades.

China’s economy has been struggling with a disappointing rebound from its brutal pandemic lockdowns, which only came to an end late last year.

It has now lurched towards a property crisis after a second major developer ran into trouble. Country Garden, the Chinese property giant, is facing default after missing payments to dollar bondholders.

Ms Wang said she now expected new property construction projects in China to fall by 25pc this year, with another 10pc drop earmarked in 2024.

She said: “The property downturn has deepened, external demand has weakened further and policy support has been less than expected.

“Since an estimated 60pc or more of household wealth is allocated in property, a weaker property market is also expected to soften household consumption.”

The People’s Bank of China on Monday cut the one-year prime loan rate, to which a large share of mortgages and business loans are tied, by 0.1 percentage points. This was less than economists had expected.

Meanwhile, officials held the five-year loan rate steady.