Mucahithan Avcioglu
19 May 2025•Update: 20 May 2025
ISTANBUL
China's retail sales rose 5.1% year-on-year in April, falling short of market expectations, according to official data from National Bureau of Statistics released on Monday.
The figure for the world's second-largest economy was lower than market expectations of a 6% annual increase, indicating that domestic demand in China slowed.
Industrial production, on the other hand, climbed 6.1% year on year, exceeding expectations of a 5.7% increase in April.
On the contrary, industrial output growth slowed from March's 7.7% increase, indicating that the impact of US tariffs was less than anticipated.
Chinese investment in fixed assets, such as real estate and infrastructure, increased by 4% in the first four months of the year, falling short of market expectations of 4.4% growth.
Meanwhile, China's unemployment rate fell to 5.1% in April, from 5.2% the previous month.
US President Donald Trump imposed 145% tariffs on Chinese imports, which went into effect in April, and Beijing responded with 125% tariffs on American goods.
After the tariffs went into effect, Chinese exports increased by 8.1% year on year in April, exceeding expectations.
Following the escalation of trade tensions, US and Chinese officials met in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 10-11 for tariff negotiations, agreeing to lower tariffs for 90 days.
After the two countries' talks in Geneva on May 14, it was agreed that the US would reduce its tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, while China would reduce its tariffs on US goods from 125% to 10% for 90 days.'
