PUBLISHED June 28, 2026
Industrial Production Grows, Led by High-Tech and Equipment Manufacturing
According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, in the first four months of 2026, the total value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 5.6 percent year on year. The value added of equipment manufacturing increased by 8.7 percent year on year, while high-tech manufacturing increased by 12.6 percent — running 3.1 and 7.0 percentage points faster respectively than the broader industrial average. Production of 3D printing devices, lithium-ion batteries, and industrial robots grew by 50.9 percent, 36.0 percent, and 25.7 percent year on year respectively, illustrating just how concentrated China’s industrial growth has become in advanced manufacturing categories.
Services Sector Shows Particularly Strong Momentum in Tech and Finance
The Index of Services Production grew by 4.9 percent year on year in the first four months, with information transmission, software and information technology services, leasing and business services, and finance growing by 10.9 percent, 9.3 percent, and 6.7 percent respectively. The Business Activity Expectation Index for Services reached 55.4 percent in April, with railway transportation, post, and telecommunication, broadcast, television and satellite transmission services all remaining within the high-expansion range above 55.0 percent.
Retail Sales Growth Slows Sharply, But Online and Service Spending Hold Up
Total retail sales of consumer goods reached 16,494.1 billion yuan in the first four months, up by just 1.9 percent year on year — a notably soft pace, with April’s monthly figure showing growth of only 0.2 percent year on year and an actual month-on-month decline of 0.48 percent. Retail sales of services, by contrast, grew by 5.6 percent year on year, while online retail sales of goods and services reached 6,530.8 billion yuan, up 6.6 percent, suggesting that whatever consumption growth China is generating is increasingly concentrated in services and digital channels rather than traditional retail.
Investment in fixed assets, excluding rural households, reached 14,129.3 billion yuan in the first four months, down 1.6 percent year on year — though investment was up 1.3 percent when real estate development is excluded, underscoring just how much the property sector is dragging down the headline figure. Investment in real estate development declined by 13.7 percent, while the floor space of newly-built commercial buildings sold fell 10.2 percent and total sales of newly-built commercial buildings dropped 14.6 percent. Private investment fell 5.2 percent overall, though it declined by a more modest 1.9 percent once real estate is stripped out.
Investment in fixed assets, excluding rural households, reached 14,129.3 billion yuan in the first four months, down 1.6 percent year on year — though investment was up 1.3 percent when real estate development is excluded, underscoring just how much the property sector is dragging down the headline figure. Investment in real estate development declined by 13.7 percent, while the floor space of newly-built commercial buildings sold fell 10.2 percent and total sales of newly-built commercial buildings dropped 14.6 percent. Private investment fell 5.2 percent overall, though it declined by a more modest 1.9 percent once real estate is stripped out.
Even as overall fixed asset investment contracted, investment in high-tech industries grew by 6.1 percent year on year, with investment in aerospace vehicle and equipment manufacturing, computer and office device manufacturing, and information services growing by 17.9 percent, 13.9 percent, and 18.1 percent respectively. Investment in intellectual property products — covering software, databases, R&D, and related categories — increased by 8.9 percent, reinforcing the picture of a deliberate policy tilt toward technology-intensive growth even as traditional capital-intensive sectors like real estate continue to languish.
The total value of imports and exports of goods reached 16,225.2 billion yuan in the first four months, an increase of 14.9 percent year on year. Exports rose 11.3 percent while imports surged 20.0 percent — a notably faster pace of import growth that may reflect both stronger domestic demand for certain inputs and currency or pricing effects. Trade with Belt and Road partner countries grew 13.5 percent, and exports of mechanical and electrical products grew 17.6 percent, continuing the shift toward higher-value-added export categories that Beijing has been actively promoting.
The consumer price index increased by 0.9 percent year on year in the first four months, with April’s reading reaching 1.2 percent — a modest but genuine uptick from the deflationary pressures that have characterized China’s economy for the past several years. Pork prices fell 12.2 percent year on year even as fresh vegetables rose 5.7 percent, while core CPI excluding food and energy rose 1.2 percent. Producer prices for industrial products, meanwhile, rose 2.8 percent year on year in April alone — a sharper acceleration that the statistics bureau itself acknowledged sits against a backdrop in which “the domestic imbalance between strong supply and weak demand is still acute.”
Even as overall fixed asset investment contracted, investment in high-tech industries grew by 6.1 percent year on year, with investment in aerospace vehicle and equipment manufacturing, computer and office device manufacturing, and information services growing by 17.9 percent, 13.9 percent, and 18.1 percent respectively. Investment in intellectual property products — covering software, databases, R&D, and related categories — increased by 8.9 percent, reinforcing the picture of a deliberate policy tilt toward technology-intensive growth even as traditional capital-intensive sectors like real estate continue to languish.
The total value of imports and exports of goods reached 16,225.2 billion yuan in the first four months, an increase of 14.9 percent year on year. Exports rose 11.3 percent while imports surged 20.0 percent — a notably faster pace of import growth that may reflect both stronger domestic demand for certain inputs and currency or pricing effects. Trade with Belt and Road partner countries grew 13.5 percent, and exports of mechanical and electrical products grew 17.6 percent, continuing the shift toward higher-value-added export categories that Beijing has been actively promoting.
The consumer price index increased by 0.9 percent year on year in the first four months, with April’s reading reaching 1.2 percent — a modest but genuine uptick from the deflationary pressures that have characterized China’s economy for the past several years. Pork prices fell 12.2 percent year on year even as fresh vegetables rose 5.7 percent, while core CPI excluding food and energy rose 1.2 percent. Producer prices for industrial products, meanwhile, rose 2.8 percent year on year in April alone — a sharper acceleration that the statistics bureau itself acknowledged sits against a backdrop in which “the domestic imbalance between strong supply and weak demand is still acute.”
