China’s mixed economic activity in July puts Beijing’s stimulus stance in spotlight
- While retail sales inched up in July, property investment in China worsened slightly while urban unemployment rose and fixed-asset-investment growth slowed
China’s economy continued to be weighed down in July by a persistent property slump, weak consumption and elevated unemployment, prompting analysts to expect stronger fiscal support from Beijing amid a rising risk of missing its annual growth target.
Following the monthly data release, China’s central bank said it would embrace new policies that help boost growth.
“First of all, we’ll increase implementation efforts to make [monetary policy adjustments] more effective,” Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People’s Bank of China, was quoted as saying by state broadcaster CCTV. “Second, we will further plan new incremental policies” as required by the central government.
Property investment experienced a year-on-year decline of 10.2 per cent in the first seven months of 2024, following a 10.1 per cent drop from January to June.
This is posing more challenges to [Beijing’s] annual growth target
