China's economy grows 4.3% in Q2, slowest since late 2022
China's economic growth slowed to 4.3% in the second quarter, the weakest performance in over three years. While high-tech exports like AI and electric vehicles are booming, domestic spending and investment remain sluggish.
Why it matters
The imbalance between state-supported high-tech sectors and struggling domestic consumption poses a significant challenge to China's long-term economic stability.
HONG KONG — China's economy slowed sharply to a 4.3% annualized pace of growth in the April-June quarter, the government said Wednesday, the weakest in over three years.
The official data fell short of forecasts and was far below the economy's strong 5% pace of growth in January-March, despite a surge in exports driven partly by the boom in artificial intelligence, and by robust global demand for Chinese electric vehicles.
China has largely shrugged off wider economic impacts from the Iran war as soaring energy prices pushed up global inflation. Exports rose 17.6% in the first half of the year from a year earlier, and 27% in June, according to customs data.
But domestic spending and investment have lagged, limiting the boost from export manufacturing for an economy that has struggled to regain momentum since parts of China were locked down during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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