With the new agreement providing a 90-day reprieve in the
conflict, last month was the only period where the full force of the
triple-digit tariffs could be observed in economic data – at least for now,
Last month, China’s industrial output grew by 6.1% from a
year earlier, compared to 7.7% growth in March, according to data released by
the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday, higher than the 5.21% growth
estimate from a poll of economists by financial data provider Wind.
At a meeting of the country’s Politburo in late April – a
Communist Party conclave which typically sets the tone for the country’s
economic work in the second quarter – the high-level political body vowed to
“resolutely focus on doing our business, steadfastly expand high-level opening
up and focus on stabilizing employment, businesses, markets, and expectations”
in a statement.
The rhetoric was seen as affirmation of the need to shore up
domestic consumption in an environment where the future of global trade is less
than certain.
In a research note previewing the data release, investment
bank Goldman Sachs said retail growth was driven by strong home appliance and
automobile sales, boosted by an ongoing consumer goods trade-in program.
Automobile retail sales volume grew by 14.5%YoY in April,
according to data from the China Passenger Car Association.
Official data also showed that during the three-day Ching
Ming Festival holiday period, the number of domestic travellers nationwide and
domestic tourism revenue were 6.3% and 6.7% higher, respectively, than the same
period last year.
China’s overall fixed-asset investment rose by 4% in the
first four months of 2025, falling short of Wind’s estimate of 4.26%, following
a rise of 4.2% for the period from January to March.
The overall urban unemployment rate for April, meanwhile, stood
at 5.1%, compared with 5.2% a month earlier.
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