China factory output beats forecasts, weathering tariffs

An employee works on the production line at the Martinrea auto parts manufacturing plant that supplies auto parts to Canada and U.S. plants, in Woodbridge, Ontario. Factory output in China grew at a faster rate than expected in April amid tariff impact. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

BEIJING, China – Factory output in China grew at a faster rate than expected last month, official data showed Monday, weathering a brutal trade war with Washington.

Industrial production in the export powerhouse grew 6.1 percent on-year in April, according to figures published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The reading was higher than the 5.7 percent forecast in a Bloomberg survey, but still lower than the 7.7 percent jump recorded for March.

READ: Asian markets struggle as trade war hits China factory activity

“The national economy withstood pressure and grew steadily in April,” the NBS said, acknowledging a “complex situation of increasing external shocks and layered internal difficulties and challenges”.

China and the United States last week agreed to slash sweeping tariffs on each other’s goods for 90 days, raising hopes the global economy can avoid a major downturn.

In addition to heightened trade tensions, Beijing has also been battling a persistent slump in domestic spending, threatening its official growth target for this year of around five percent.

Data on Monday showed retail sales, a key gauge of domestic demand, grew 5.1 percent year-on-year last month, short of the 5.8 percent growth forecast by Bloomberg.

The reading also marked a slowdown from March’s 5.9 percent growth.

Meanwhile, China’s surveyed unemployment rate edged down slightly to 5.1 percent, from 5.2 percent in March, according to the NBS.

“Economic activities softened only marginally in April as exports stayed resilient despite higher US tariffs,” Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, wrote in a note.

“Now that the tariffs have been cut significantly, I expect exports to remain strong,” Zhang said, adding that “economic momentum in the second quarter will likely be stable”.

Adding to woes is a years-long downturn in the once-booming property market, which previously represented a key engine for the country’s economy.

April saw the price of new residential properties contract in 67 out of 70 surveyed cities, reflecting continued consumer caution, according to the data.