China Economy Grows Steadily in First Four Months of 2026

China's economy maintained stable forward momentum in the first four months of 2026, with industrial output expanding at a solid pace, trade posting double-digit growth and the unemployment rate edging lower, though a deepening property slump, weak domestic demand and uncertain external conditions continued to cloud the recovery outlook, official data showed.

Industrial Output Rises 5.6%, High-Tech Sector Leads Gains

China's industrial output from above-scale firms grew 5.6% year-on-year in the January–April period. Among the three major categories, manufacturing expanded 5.8%, mining rose 5.5%, and electricity, heat, gas and water production climbed 4.5%.

Equipment manufacturing and high-technology manufacturing significantly outpaced the broader industrial sector, surging 8.7% and 12.6% respectively — 3.1 and 7.0 percentage points faster than the overall industrial average.

By ownership type, state-controlled enterprises grew 4.4%, share-holding enterprises rose 6.0%, foreign and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan-invested enterprises expanded 3.9%, and private enterprises increased 5.2%.

Production highlights included 3D printing equipment surging 50.9%, lithium-ion batteries jumping 36.0%, and industrial robots climbing 25.7%.

In April alone, industrial output rose 4.1% year-on-year and edged up 0.05% month-on-month. The manufacturing purchasing managers' index stood at 50.3% in April, while the business activity expectations index rose 1.1 percentage points from the prior month to 54.5%. Industrial enterprise profits reached 1.696 trillion yuan in the first quarter, up 15.5% year-on-year.

Services Sector Grows 4.9%, Modern Industries Outperform

The services sector production index rose 4.9% year-on-year in the first four months. Among key sub-sectors, information technology services surged 10.9%, leasing and business services rose 9.3%, and financial services expanded 6.7%.

In April, the services production index grew 4.3% year-on-year. Revenue at above-scale services firms grew 6.5% in the first quarter. The services business activity index stood at 49.6% in April, while the business activity expectations index rose 0.6 percentage points from the prior month to 55.4%. Railway transport, postal services, and telecommunications sectors all registered activity indices above 55.0%, indicating strong expansion.

Retail Sales Top 16.49 Trillion Yuan, Services Consumption Accelerates

Total retail sales of consumer goods reached 16.49 trillion yuan in January–April, up 1.9% year-on-year. Urban retail sales rose 1.8% to 14.29 trillion yuan, while rural retail consumption grew faster at 2.8%, reaching 2.20 trillion yuan.

By consumption type, goods retail expanded 1.7% to 14.61 trillion yuan, while catering revenue rose 3.8% to 1.89 trillion yuan. Among goods categories tracked by above-scale retailers, communications equipment posted the sharpest gain at 17.7%, followed by grain and food products at 8.6% and apparel at 8.1%.

In April, total retail sales rose just 0.2% year-on-year, falling 0.48% from the prior month.

Services retail sales expanded 5.6% year-on-year in the first four months, accelerating 0.1 percentage points from the January–March pace, driven by communications, tourism, cultural, recreational and transportation services.

Online retail sales of goods and services totaled 6.53 trillion yuan, up 6.6%. Online goods sales grew 5.7% to 4.12 trillion yuan, accounting for 25.0% of total consumer goods retail, while online services sales rose 8.3% to 2.41 trillion yuan.

Fixed-Asset Investment Falls 1.6% as Property Slump Deepens

Fixed-asset investment fell 1.6% year-on-year to 14.13 trillion yuan in the first four months. Excluding real estate development, investment grew 1.3%. Investment in intellectual property products rose 8.9%.

Real estate development investment plunged 13.7%, with new commercial housing sales by floor area falling 10.2% to 252.58 million square meters and sales value declining 14.6% to 2.30 trillion yuan.

By sector, primary industry investment rose 10.1%, secondary industry investment grew 2.5%, while tertiary industry investment fell 4.2%. Infrastructure investment advanced 4.3% and manufacturing investment inched up 1.2%.

Private investment declined 5.2%, though the drop narrowed to 1.9% when real estate was excluded.

High-technology industry investment rose 6.1%, led by aerospace equipment manufacturing up 17.9%, computer and office equipment manufacturing up 13.9%, and information services investment up 18.1%.

In April, fixed-asset investment fell 2.36% month-on-month.

Trade Jumps 14.9%, Imports Surge 20%

Total merchandise trade rose 14.9% year-on-year to 16.23 trillion yuan in the January–April period. Exports climbed 11.3% to 9.33 trillion yuan, while imports surged 20.0% to 6.90 trillion yuan.

General trade expanded 8.5%, trade with Belt and Road Initiative partner countries grew 13.5%, and private enterprise trade rose 15.9%. Exports of mechanical and electrical products jumped 17.6%.

In April, total trade rose 14.2% to 4.38 trillion yuan. Exports grew 9.8% to 2.48 trillion yuan, while imports accelerated 20.6% to 1.90 trillion yuan.

Unemployment Edges Down to 5.2% in April

The urban surveyed unemployment rate averaged 5.3% across the first four months, easing to 5.2% in April — down 0.2 percentage points from March. The rate among local household-registered workers stood at 5.3%, while that for non-local workers was 5.0%, including 5.0% for non-local agricultural household workers. The unemployment rate across 31 major cities fell 0.1 percentage points to 5.2%. Average weekly working hours at enterprises stood at 48.0 hours.

Consumer Prices Rise Modestly, Factory Gate Inflation Accelerates

The consumer price index rose 0.9% year-on-year in the first four months. Among major categories, other goods and services posted the sharpest gain at 13.3%, followed by healthcare up 1.9%, clothing up 1.7%, education, culture and entertainment up 1.1%, household goods and services up 2.0%, and transport and communications up 0.3%, while housing prices dipped 0.2%. Food, tobacco and dining prices edged up 0.2%.

Within food, pork prices fell 12.2% and grain prices slipped 0.3%, while fresh vegetables rose 5.7% and fresh fruit gained 3.0%. Core CPI, excluding food and energy, rose 1.2%.

In April, CPI rose 1.2% year-on-year, widening 0.2 percentage points from March, and gained 0.3% month-on-month.

Producer prices rose 0.2% year-on-year in the first four months. In April, factory gate prices accelerated sharply, rising 2.8% year-on-year — up 2.3 percentage points from March — and gaining 1.7% month-on-month. Industrial purchasing prices rose 3.5% in April year-on-year, up 2.7 percentage points from the prior month, and climbed 2.1% month-on-month.

Outlook: Steady Progress, But Headwinds Persist

China's economy showed a stable and improving trend in the first four months of 2026, with high-quality development advancing steadily. However, the external environment remains complex and volatile, domestic supply continues to outpace demand, some enterprises face mounting operational difficulties, and the foundation for sustained improvement still needs to be consolidated.