Urban residents more than doubled their tourism spending in the first half of the year to 1.98 trillion yuan ($280 billion), official data showed. Pictured here is Guangzhou South Railway Station on July 15, 2023.
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BEIJING — China said Monday that second-quarter gross domestic product grew by 6.3% from a year ago, missing expectations.
The unemployment rate among young people ages 16 to 24 was 21.3% in June, a new record.
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The 6.3% GDP print for the second quarter marked a 0.8% pace of growth from the first quarter, slower than the 2.2% quarter-on-quarter pace recorded in the first three months of the year. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a 7.3% increase in the second quarter GDP.
Retail sales for June rose by 3.1%, a touch below the 3.2% expected.
Industrial production for June rose by 4.4% from a year ago, better than the 2.7% forecast.
Fixed asset investment for the first half of the year rose by 3.8%, better than the 3.5% predicted.
The unemployment rate for people in cities was 5.2% in June.
China ended its Covid-19 controls in December. An initial economic rebound has lost steam. The massive real estate sector has struggled to recover, while exports have plunged due to falling global demand.
Within China, lackluster consumer demand has led to no change in prices in June. The People’s Bank of China said last week it expected a dip in July, but anticipated inflation would pick back up later this year.
Domestic travel has been a bright spot in the recovery. Urban residents more than doubled their tourism spending in the first half of the year from a year ago, to 1.98 trillion yuan ($280 billion), according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. However, it said rural residents’ spending on travel only rose by about 40% during that time.
The combined first-half total of 2.3 trillion yuan was less than the 2.78 trillion yuan reported for the first six months of 2019, before the pandemic, official data showed.
Beijing last week said it would extend property support measures. Authorities have also announced broad support for exports. The country has also extended tax breaks for electric car purchases, a growing industry the government is keen to support.
But Beijing has otherwise shown reluctance to embark on greater stimulus, especially as local government debt has soared. A Politburo meeting expected later this month could provide more details on economic policy.
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