BEIJING: Chinese retail sales and industrial production growth slowed in August, official data showed Saturday, as leaders in Beijing seek paths to achieve growth targets despite consumers’ reluctance to spend. More than a year and a half since abolishing strict COVID-19 measures that had dampened activity, the world’s second-largest economy has yet to achieve a highly anticipated post-pandemic recovery.

A prolonged debt crisis in China’s vast property sector, continued deflationary pressure and high unemployment are among the factors now weighing on investor confidence. In August, retail sales increased 2.1 percent year-on-year, slowing from 2.7 percent in July, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The figure also came up short of the 2.5 percent growth forecast by a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Year-on-year industrial production also slowed, NBS data showed, dropping from 5.1 percent growth in July to 4.5 percent in August.

The Bloomberg forecast had anticipated industrial production to grow 4.7 percent last month. The new figures are a worrying sign that efforts this year to spur the Chinese economy have not had a major impact, as Beijing looks for ways to achieve its goal of five percent growth in 2024. “Adverse effects of current changes in the external environment are increasing, domestic demand is still insufficient, and the economy is still facing many difficulties and challenges in its continued recovery,” the NBS said in a statement.

Unemployment edged upwards to 5.3 percent in August, NBS figures also showed, compared to 5.2 percent in July. Saturday’s data release comes one day after Beijing announced a long-anticipated rise in the national retirement age, as birth rates decline and hundreds of millions of people approach old age. China’s total population fell in 2023 for the second consecutive year, with experts warning of severe impacts on the economy, healthcare and social welfare systems if action is not taken. — AFP