BEIJING, CHINA / RankWire.AI / – In the first seven months of 2026, China’s fixed-asset investment contracted by 6.7% year on year, indicating an accelerated slowdown across domestic investment channels. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, investment excluding rural households totaled 26.03 trillion yuan from January through July. During July alone, investment decreased by 1.42% compared to June. Both industrial output and retail sales experienced deceleration during that month. These figures follow a period of slower economic growth in the second quarter.
The property sector continued to be the primary drag on overall investment, with property development expenditures dropping 19.2% over the seven-month span. Infrastructure investment saw a decline of 3.6%, while manufacturing investment fell by 1.7%. Private sector investment decreased by 9.4% compared to the previous year. Investment excluding real estate development remained 3.7% lower than a year earlier. The data reflect ongoing reductions across several major areas of capital expenditure amidst the persistent downturn in the property market.
Retail sales of consumer goods grew modestly by 0.6% year on year in July, reaching 3.90 trillion yuan, a slowdown from June’s 1.0% increase. Industrial output expanded by 4.5% in July, down from 5.3% growth in the previous month. The output for the first seven months increased by 5.3% compared to the same period in 2025. China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index stood at 49.2 in July, decreasing from 50.3 in June.
Wider investment decline extends beyond property sector
The cumulative decline in investment widened during the second quarter and into July. Fixed-asset investment had already fallen 1.6% in the first four months and 4.1% through May. The decline deepened to 5.7% in the first six months and further expanded to 6.7% by July. Indicators for property also remained weak; newly built commercial building floor space sold dropped 11.8%, while sales by value decreased 13.1% to 4.27 trillion yuan.
Despite the overall downward trend, some investment categories continued to show growth. Investments in high-tech sectors increased by 5.0% over the first seven months. Investment in information services surged by 19.2%, while aerospace vehicle and equipment manufacturing grew by 12.3%. Electronic and communication equipment manufacturing rose 7.1%, with investments in intellectual property products up by 9.1%. High-tech manufacturing output increased 13.8%, and equipment manufacturing output grew 9.7% during January-July.
Trade growth persists amid weakening domestic indicators
Foreign trade outpaced several domestic economic metrics, with China’s total goods imports and exports reaching 30.13 trillion yuan in the first seven months, up 17.3%. Exports grew by 14.0% to 17.44 trillion yuan, while imports rose 22.0% to 12.69 trillion yuan. In July, exports increased 17.8% year on year, and imports advanced 21.2%. Online retail sales of goods and services saw a 4.8% increase through July.
China’s gross domestic product expanded by 4.7% year on year in the first half of 2026. Growth slowed from 5.0% in the first quarter to 4.3% in the second quarter. Consumer prices rose 0.5% in July compared to the previous year, and the urban unemployment rate stood at 5.2%. The Communist Party Politburo called in late July for stronger counter-cyclical measures and efforts to expand domestic demand, responding to the slowdown in investment, consumption, and industrial activity.