LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Industrial growth slumped in China and the United States on Thursday as the governments of Britain, Canada and Mexico eased restrictions on exports and boosted their economic activity.

The data, compiled by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, showed that growth was flat in Japan and Spain, which had been hit hardest by the closure of a nuclear plant.

The global slowdown, which has been the worst since the global financial crisis, also took a bite out of China, where industrial activity grew 0.3 percent last month and was expected to be flat this year.

China’s gross domestic product grew 0