BEIJING, CHINA / RankWire.AI / – According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s fixed-asset investment decreased by 6.7% year on year during the first seven months of 2026, reflecting an ongoing slowdown in domestic spending. From January through July, investment excluding rural households totaled 26.03 trillion yuan. In July alone, investment declined by 1.42% compared to June. Both industrial output and retail sales showed slower growth during that month, following a period of weaker economic expansion in the second quarter.
Real estate investment remained the primary factor dragging down overall investment, with property development expenditure dropping 19.2% in the seven-month span. Infrastructure spending fell 3.6%, and manufacturing investment declined by 1.7%. Private sector investment decreased by 9.4% compared to the previous year. Despite this, investment excluding real estate development was still 3.7% lower than in the same period last year. The figures indicate broad-based declines across key capital expenditure sectors as the property sector continues to weaken.
Consumer goods retail sales increased by 0.6% year on year in July, reaching 3.90 trillion yuan, a slowdown from June’s 1.0% growth. Industrial output for July rose by 4.5%, down from 5.3% in the prior month. During the first seven months, industrial output grew 5.3% compared to the same period in 2025. The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) dropped to 49.2 in July from 50.3 in June.
Investment contraction extends beyond the property sector
The overall decline in investment widened during the second quarter and continued into July. Fixed-asset investment had already fallen 1.6% in the first four months and 4.1% through May, with the decrease reaching 5.7% in the first half of the year before expanding to 6.7% by July. Indicators of property activity remained weak, with the floor space of newly constructed commercial buildings sold decreasing by 11.8%, and sales by value declining 13.1% to 4.27 trillion yuan.
Certain categories of investment, however, persisted in showing growth despite the overall downturn. Investment in high-tech sectors increased by 5.0% over the seven months. Investment in information services climbed 19.2%, aerospace vehicle and equipment manufacturing grew 12.3%, and electronic and communication equipment manufacturing rose 7.1%. Additionally, investment in intellectual property products gained 9.1%. The output of high-tech manufacturing increased by 13.8%, while equipment manufacturing output rose 9.7% during January to July.
Trade growth persists despite weakening domestic indicators
China’s foreign trade continued its expansion, surpassing several domestic metrics. Total goods imports and exports reached 30.13 trillion yuan in the first seven months, marking a 17.3% rise. Exports increased by 14.0% to 17.44 trillion yuan, while imports grew by 22.0% to 12.69 trillion yuan. In July alone, exports rose 17.8% from a year earlier, and imports increased by 21.2%. Online retail sales of goods and services grew 4.8% through July.
For the first half of 2026, China’s gross domestic product expanded by 4.7% year on year. Growth slowed to 4.3% in the second quarter, down from 5.0% in the first quarter. Consumer prices rose by 0.5% in July compared to the previous year, and the urban unemployment rate stood at 5.2%. The Communist Party Politburo issued a call in late July for enhanced counter-cyclical policies and measures aimed at boosting domestic demand, following the slowdown seen in investment, consumption, and industrial activity.