Beijing (Reuters) – China’s industrial production slowed in April but still showed resilience, a sign that government support measures may have damaged the impact of a trade war with the United States.
Industrial production grew 6.1% in April compared to the previous year, showed data from the National Statistics Office on Monday, slowing over 7.7% in March, but surpassing the 5.5% increase in a Reuters survey.
“April resilience is partly the result of” early “fiscal support,” said Tianchen Xu, senior economist at Economist Intelligence Unit, referring to stronger government spending.
The data followed stronger exports than expected that, according to economists, were supported by exporters who redirected remittances and countries that bought more materials from China amid a reordering of global trade due to US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
However, the data on Monday stressed the shock of US reciprocal tariffs, Xu said, adding that “despite the rapid growth of industrial added value, the value of export delivery was almost stagnant.”
Beijing and Washington came to an agreement last week to reverse most of the products imposed on each other’s products since early April. The 90 -day break in a trade war that shook the global offer chains and fed recession fears.
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“China’s foreign trade overcame difficulties and maintained stable growth, demonstrating strong resilience and international competitiveness,” Fu Linghui, spokesman for the statistics department told a press conference on Monday. He added that the reduction in commercial tension will benefit bilateral trade growth and global economic recovery.
But economists warned that the short -term truce and the unpredictable approach of the US President will continue to launch a shadow on the export -oriented Chinese economy, which still faces 30% rates beyond existing rates.
The real estate sector has not yet shown signs of recovery, with stagnation of housing prices and reducing investments in the sector.
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Retail sales, a measure of consumption, increased 5.1% in April over the previous year, below the 5.9% increase in March and the expected expansion of 5.5%. Economists attributed the slowdown in the impact of US tariffs on consumer expectations and the weakness of internal demand.
