- Jiang Yuan, a senior analyst with the NBS
China's industrial production, which measures output at factories, workshops and mines, dropped in August on waning export demand and a slowdown in real estate development that has impaired steel and cement production, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. On an annual basis factory output declined as much as 6.9% from the previous year, compared to the July's reading of 9%. On a monthly basis, the industrial output in August expanded by a fractional 0.2% from July. Industrial production has been weakening amid flagging exports to major markets including Japan, Europe and the United States, as well as the saturation of China's domestic markets for vehicles and mobile phones after years of robust growth. China's August export growth came in at 9.4%, significantly lower than the 14.5% rise in July. Auto production grew only 3.1%, down sharply from 10.5% in July, while cell phone production declined 2.3%. Retail sales, a key gauge of consumer spending, rose 11.9% in the same month on year, the National Bureau of Statistics said. Fixed asset investment, a measure of government spending on infrastructure, grew 16.5% on year in the first eight months of 2014.
China aims to reach a GDP growth target of around 7.5% and a consumer price index goal of about 3.5% for 2014, with 10 million more urban jobs to keep the urban unemployment rate at a maximum of 4.6%.
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