China's economy has grown at its slowest pace in 13 years as domestic and global demand weakened. Gross domestic product, the main measure of growth, increased by 7.8 per cent in 2012, down from 9.3 per cent in 2011. However, the figures also showed that the economy picked up pace in the last three months of the year. The new leaders have said they want to do more to promote sustainable economic growth and consumer spending.