China continues to experience high export growth, but domestic economic stagnation persists.
The National Bureau of Statistics of China announced on September 15 that industrial production in August increased by 5.2% compared to the same period last year. This marks a 0.7 percentage point rise from July's growth rate of 4.5% and exceeds the Reuters forecast of 4.8%. In August, production in the equipment manufacturing sector rose by 12.1%, while high-tech manufacturing saw a 16.7% increase. Battery production surged by 57.2%, and industrial robot output grew by 34.6%.
Exports in August rose by 25.0% year-on-year in dollar terms, surpassing July's growth rate of 23.9%.
However, the total retail sales of consumer goods, a key consumption indicator, only increased by 0.4% compared to the previous year. This is below July's growth rate of 0.6% and lower than the Reuters forecast of 0.8%.
Cumulative fixed asset investment in August fell by 7.2% year-on-year, worsening from July's cumulative decline of 6.7%. Additionally, cumulative investment in real estate development dropped by 19.9%, indicating ongoing market weakness.
The urban unemployment rate in August rose to 5.3%, up 0.1 percentage points from the previous month.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in August increased by 0.8% year-on-year, with the growth rate widening by 0.3 percentage points from the previous month, and a month-on-month increase of 0.4%.
The National Bureau of Statistics stated, "In August, the Chinese economy operated overall stably," but noted that "uncertainties in the external environment are increasing, and structural contradictions of weak domestic demand are becoming more pronounced." It added that "some companies are facing operational difficulties, and there is a need for strengthened macro policy adjustments, expansion of domestic demand, and industrial upgrades."
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.