China’s retail sales strengthen in first half of year, but clouds hang over consumer spending

Name: China’s economy rose 7.9 per cent year on year in the second quarter of 2021
Uploaded: 2021-07-16T14:15:07.000Z
Duration: 1 min 19 s
Description: China’s economy rose 7.9 per cent year on year in the second quarter of 2021

China’s total retail sales in the first six months of the year were 9 per cent higher than the same period in 2019, underscoring a strong post-pandemic rebound

But significant uncertainty remains in the long-term outlook, with consumer confidence in China not steady yet at pre-Covid levels, analysts say

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Total retail sales of consumer goods in the first half of the year rose 23 per cent to 21.2 trillion yuan (US$3.2 trillion) from the same period last year. Photo: Reuters

Ji Siqi

Published: 10:15pm, 16 Jul 2021Updated: 10:36pm, 16 Jul 2021

Retail consumption contributed 61.7 per cent to China‘s gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first half of 2021, nudging ahead of pre-pandemic figures, but concerns about a dimmer outlook remain, experts say.

Total retail sales of consumer goods – a key barometer for assessing the health of the economy – in the first half of the year rose 23 per cent to 21.2 trillion yuan (US$3.2 trillion) from the same period last year, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday. Sales in the first six months were also 9 per cent higher than the same period in 2019.

All eyes were on China’s second quarter GDP figures on Thursday amid concerns of an economic slowdown in the last six months of the year.

While those doubts have not diminished, analysts welcomed overall growth of 7.9 per cent growth in the last quarter, which was close to projections of 8 per cent. China’s growth in the first six months of the year was 12.7 per cent.

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China’s economy rose 7.9 per cent year on year in the second quarter of 2021

Beijing has a GDP growth target of “over 6 per cent” for 2021, but analysts expect the economy to easily exceed that with expansion of about 8 per cent.