BEIJING: China’s GDP growth slowed further in the April-June period — weakest in more than three years — as the economy grapples with supply-demand imbalance and structural challenges, official data from Beijing showed on Wednesday.
GDP grew 4.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics in China. This is less than the official target range of 4.5-5 per cent.
“The economy ran within a reasonable range. There were many instabilities and uncertainties externally, and the supply-demand imbalance was prominent domestically,” said the Bureau in a statement.
According to Xinhua, gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.7 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2026.The world's second-largest economy generated around 69.57 trillion yuan (about 10.25 trillion US dollars) in output during the period, the data showed. In the second quarter, the country's economy expanded 4.3 per cent year-on-year,
According to the official data, the investment in real estate, infrastructure and manufacturing dropped 18 per cent, 2.4 per cent and 1.2 per cent, respectively.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said last week that China must urgently overhaul its economic growth model by shifting away from exports towards stronger domestic consumption as it grapples with weak demand, slowing productivity and a rapidly ageing population.
It warned that these structural challenges will weigh on the world's second-largest economy in the years ahead.
Julie Kozack, Director of the IMF's Communications Department, said the IMF continues to see significant structural weaknesses in the Chinese economy despite a modest upward revision in this year's growth forecast.
The IMF's latest ‘World Economic Outlook’ update projects China's growth to slow from 5 per cent in 2025 to 4.6 per cent in 2026.
Although the 2026 forecast represents a slight upgrade from the Fund's April outlook, Kozack stressed that longer-term structural issues remain a major concern.
—IANS
