Chinese steel production and power generation contracted last year for the first time in at least a quarter of a century, according to official statistics released on Tuesday, as the economy grew at its slowest pace since 1990. The data come as fears about China’s economy shake global markets and capital leaves the country at an unprecedented pace. Investors are eager for clues about whether slides in China’s equity market and currency depreciation at the start of this year were a sign of acute distress in the real economy, or whether policymakers can engineer a gradual slowdown that avoids financial crisis and social instability. Fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth came in at an inflation-adjusted 6.8 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, placing the full-year figure at 6.9 per cent — in line with Beijing’s target of “around 7 per cent” for the year and with economists’ expectations. The 2016 growth target is 6.5 per cent. Meanwhile. steel output last year fell 2.3 per cent to 802.8m tonnes, while power generation declined 0.2 per cent. Coal production fell for the second consecutive year.