BEIJING - China's real economic growth rate decelerated to 4.3 percent year-on-year in the April-June period from 5.0 percent in the previous quarter amid weak consumption, official data showed Wednesday, the slowest expansion since the 2022 fourth quarter when Beijing was battling the COVID-19 pandemic.
The increase in the inflation-adjusted gross domestic product of the world's second-largest economy fell below the growth target of 4.5 to 5 percent for 2026.
On a quarter-to-quarter basis, China's GDP rose 0.9 percent in the second quarter of 2026, decelerating from 1.3 percent growth in the January-March period.
The GDP data came days after China set a goal of raising total retail sales of consumer goods to around 60 trillion yuan ($9 trillion) by 2030, up around 20 percent from 2025 levels, to further strengthen "consumption's role in driving economic growth," according to a government plan.
The National Bureau of Statistics said China's economy "operated within an appropriate range" in the first half of the year, as "high-quality development advanced with new and positive momentum."
"However, we should also be aware that the external environment is becoming increasingly unstable and uncertain, the imbalance between strong supply and weak demand remains acute at home, and the foundation for economic recovery and improvement still needs to be consolidated," the bureau added.
The soft domestic demand amid a prolonged property sector crisis in China has led to robust exports of items including electric vehicles and products related to artificial intelligence, with shipments to Europe, Africa and Southeast Asian countries recording sharp increases in the first half of the year.
In the first six months, retail sales of consumer goods increased 1.3 percent on year, slowing from 2.4 percent in the previous quarter.
Investment in fixed assets, excluding rural households, declined 5.7 percent. By sector, investment in real estate development dropped 18.0 percent amid the property sector crisis.
Industrial production in China, dubbed the "world's factory," expanded 5.4 percent. The total value of exports climbed 13.4 percent, while that of imports soared 22.1 percent.
Last week, the International Monetary Fund forecast China's economic growth would slow to 4.6 percent this year from 5.0 percent in 2025 and 4.1 percent in 2027.
On Monday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang stressed at a symposium that work on the economy in the second half of the year will "bear directly on achieving the annual development goals" and called for "making full and effective use of existing policies" to consolidate economic momentum.
During an annual parliamentary session in March, China set its GDP growth target for 2026 at the lowest level since the early 1990s amid challenges including global geopolitical uncertainty.
