Official: China recovery faces pressure after April activity weaker than expected
An official says China's economic recovery faces pressure from sluggish consumer and export demand BEIJING -- China’s economic recovery faces pressure from sluggish consumer and export demand, a government official said Tuesday, after retail sales and other activity in April were weaker than expected. Chinese activity accelerated while U.S. and European economic growth is cooling following interest rate hikes to extinguish i NFL ation. But consumer spending, an important economic engine, is taking longer than expected to recover after most Chinese curbs on Business activity and Travel ended in December. “The recover y of demand is still insufficient,” said Fu Linghui, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics, at a news conference. “External demand has weakened” and exporters face a “complex and severe” environment. Growth in retail sales accelerated to 18.4% over a year earlier in April, official data showed, but that was below private sector expectations of up to 3...