China's economy weaker: retail, industry, invest

Loss of Momentum China Faces Weakening Economy

2026-05-18 Source: dpa 1 min Reading Time

According to the Beijing statistics office, important economic data for April fell short of forecasts ...

The ripples caused by the global conflicts and hardships are also spreading to China's economy. Here are the latest figures from Beijing ...(Image: Chiuag Do) — The ripples caused by the global conflicts and hardships are also spreading to China's economy. Here are the latest figures from Beijing ...
(Image: Chiuag Do)

China's economy was still growing robustly at the start of the year. In the first quarter, gross domestic product grew by five percent, which was at the upper end of the official target for the year. Exports also proved surprisingly resilient despite the war in Iran and higher energy prices. However, China's economy clearly lost momentum in April. Retail sales rose by just 0.2% in April (compared to the same month last year). In March, the balance sheet still showed growth of 1.7 percent. However, industrial production increased by 4.1 percent (after 5.7 percent in March). Investments also left a lot to be desired, according to the report. This is because fixed asset investments fell by 1.6 percent in the first four months of the year compared to the same period last year. In the first quarter, however, they increased by around 1.7 percent.

China Suffers from Weak Domestic Demand

When presenting the figures, the office also pointed out the resilience of the Chinese economy. However, the ongoing geopolitical conflict in the Middle East, greater fluctuations on the international energy market and strains on global supply chains are also being felt by the Chinese. At the same time, he acknowledged that the cost burden for companies has increased and that some companies are still under pressure. Economists currently see weak domestic demand as the main problem. And if the conflict in the Middle East continues for longer and puts additional pressure on the global economy, this could also become more problematic for China. After all, the People's Republic is heavily dependent on exports. If demand from other countries slows down, this would make an important pillar of the Chinese economy less stable.

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