China economic growth falls sharply, missing target

China’s economic growth slowed sharply between the start of April and end of June as weak demand domestically and the impact of the Iran war on oil prices overshadowed the country’s strong exports.

Official gross domestic product (GDP) figures showed that the world’s second largest economy grew in the second quarter of the year by 4.3%, below Beijing’s annual target.

The announcement comes a day after government data showed that China’s exports jumped by 27% in June compared to a year earlier.

In March, China cut the target to a range of 4.5%-5%, its lowest economic expansion goal since 1991 – a move some analysts say gives officials more flexibility in managing the economy.

The figures mark the first full quarter of GDP data since the start of the Iran war on 28 February and comes after a rise of 5% in the first quarter.

Separate data released on Wednesday highlighted the economic challenges Beijing is facing at home – including a long-running property market slump and weak consumer spending.

New home prices contracted again, although the 0.1% fall in June was at a slightly slower pace than the previous month.

But retail sales rose by 1% in June, improving from a 0.6% decrease in May.

Customs data for June, which was released on Tuesday, showed that China’s tech exports were boosted by soaring global demand for semiconductors to power artificial intelligence (AI) data centres.

Surging demand for Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) also gave a major boost to China’s exports – with monthly car exports topping one million for the first time.