Beijing, August 15 (TASR) – China’s retail sales rebounded in July, while industrial production experienced a slowdown in growth. Data released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday once again highlighted the uneven recovery of the world’s second-largest economy. This information was reported by FFN based on an AFP report.
More than a year and a half after the lifting of stringent measures imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, a strong economic recovery has yet to take hold. China is further burdened by a real estate market crisis, which, along with high unemployment, is weakening investor confidence. Retail sales, a key indicator of consumer spending, increased by 2.7% year-on-year in July, following a 2% rise in June. However, the year-on-year growth in industrial production slowed to 5.1% from 5.3% in the previous month, marking its weakest growth since March.
Some sectors, such as services, saw a recovery, largely driven by domestic tourism. However, significant obstacles persist across various industries, including the real estate sector, as many developers are on the brink of bankruptcy, discouraging investments in property.
International challenges are also growing, as the European Union and the United States increasingly impose trade barriers to protect their markets from what they perceive as unfair competition from cheap Chinese products.
Here are tables with the key data mentioned in the article:
Table 1: Retail Sales Growth in China
| Month | Year-on-Year Growth (%) |
|---|---|
| June | 2.0% |
| July | 2.7% |
Table 2: Industrial Production Growth in China
| Month | Year-on-Year Growth (%) |
|---|---|
| June | 5.3% |
| July | 5.1% |
These tables summarize the monthly growth rates for retail sales and industrial production in China, highlighting the slight rebound in retail sales and the slowdown in industrial production as of July 2024.
