New Delhi: China’s economic momentum cooled sharply at the beginning of the fourth quarter, hit hard by a steep drop in investment and weaker industrial output, according to Bloomberg.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that fixed-asset investment declined by 1.7 percent in the first ten months of the year — the worst performance on record for that period.
Bloomberg Economics estimates that investment may have plunged by as much as 12 percent in October alone, extending a declining trend into a fifth consecutive month.
Industrial production rose 4.9 percent year-on-year in October, but this was well below the 6.5 percent growth of September and fell short of economists’ forecasts of 5.5 percent.
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Meanwhile, consumer spending remained sluggish: retail sales gained just 2.9 percent, marking the fifth straight month of slow growth.
The convergence of weak investment, soft consumption, and fading industrial strength underscores deeper structural challenges in the Chinese economy, according to analysts.
Persistent poor confidence among businesses and households threatens to stall any quick turnaround in growth, leaving policymakers increasingly under pressure to act.
Some economists warn that without substantial stimulus or long-term reforms, the economy’s fragility could intensify.
There are growing speculations that Beijing may need to reintroduce or expand policy support to restore confidence, particularly given the prolonged collapse in property investment and weakening domestic demand.
With growth momentum fading, China’s leaders may face difficult choices — whether to rely on traditional stimulus through infrastructure and manufacturing, or to double down on structural reform to sustain recovery over the longer term.
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