China's economy sent mixed signals at the end of 2025, as strong factory output was offset by weak consumer spending and a prolonged property slump weighed on growth.
Industrial production rose 5.2% in December from a year earlier, up from a 4.8% increase in November, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast growth of 5.1%.
Fixed-asset investment fell 3.8% in 2025 from a year earlier, reversing a 3.2% increase in 2024 and coming in below the 3.0% decline expected in the WSJ poll.
Retail sales--a gauge of consumption--rose 0.9% on year in December, slowing down from 1.3% growth in November and undershooting economists' expectations for a 1.2% increase.
Fresh demographic data added to the downbeat picture, as China grapples with population decline and an aging workforce.
China's total population shrank last year, standing at 1.405 billion at the end of 2025, down from 1.408 billion recorded in 2024, the statistics bureau said. New births fell to 7.92 million from 9.54 million a year earlier.
Write to Singapore Editors at singaporeeditors@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-18-26 2134ET
