China's Early 2025: Industry Gains, Retail Stabilizes

China's manufacturing production posted a growth rate of 5.9% year-on-year by the beginning of 2025, higher than anticipated but one percentage point lower than that of last month's month-to-month growth. Manufacturing rose 0.51% from January and February. The growth was sustained by government stimulus policy within the manufacturing sector as well as other sectors.

China's consumer goods retail sales in the first half of 2025 witnessed a 4.0% year-on-year growth, as anticipated. The growth excluding automobiles was 4.8%, which was over 7.68 trillion yuan. This growth reflects a moderate increase in local consumption, which is necessary to help China realize its economic growth of about 5% when faced with pressure from exports and declining domestic demand