China records slowest growth in economy in 24 years

China’s economy grew at its slowest pace in 24 years in 2014 as property prices cooled and companies and local governments struggled under heavy debt burdens, keeping pressure on Beijing to take aggressive steps to avoid a sharper downturn.

European and Asian shares in fact rose on relief that the news was not worse; the Shanghai Composite index gained 1.85%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index saw its biggest one-day gain in a month and European markets rallied.

But for investors worried about growth in China and the world this year, the data poses two questions: Will the soft numbers and expectations of further weakness force the central bank to pump hundreds of billions of dollars into banks system-wide to prop up growth? And if so, what does that mean for Beijing’s attempts to reform its economy?