China's economic performance in the first half of the year points to a generally promising outlook, with the country's strong exports and high-tech manufacturing output helping the economy stay resilient in spite of numerous global shocks, according to an economist.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday showed China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.7 percent year on year in the first half of 2026, with the NBS saying the Chinese economy has "operated within an appropriate range against pressure."
The NBS said that amid a complex global environment so far this year, many countries were facing pressure on economic growth in the second quarter. Against this backdrop, China's economic performance so far shows that it is stable and on the right track, the bureau said.
Giving her assessment of the figures in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Wang Rui, head of the Northeast Asia Research of Oxford Economics, pointed out that multiple key economic segments demonstrated notable resilience throughout the first six months in the face of external challenges.
"If we consider the unexpected shock coming from the Middle East conflict, actually, a lot of Asian economies were suffering with terms-of-trade shock, as well as rising inflation. But if we look at China's GDP growth, in general, we do see quite a few resilient segments in the economy," she said.
China's value-added industrial output and retail sales of consumer goods and services grew 5.4 percent and 2.7 percent year on year, respectively, according to NBS data, which showed goods trade climbed nearly 17 percent, though fixed-asset investment fell 5.7 percent.
The NBS did point to bright spots such as robust growth in production and supply, stable employment and rapid expansion in new growth drivers, with Wang singling out the high-tech manufacturing sector as one such positive area. "There are some resilient parts, for example, exports which registered double digit growth for the first half of this year. But if we look at domestic demand, no matter if we look at the monthly retail sales or fixed asset investment, they are not showing very strong momentum. And on the other hand, we do have very strong industrial production numbers for high-tech manufacturing," said the economist.
Although the economic outlook remains encouraging, Wang believes there are still a number of key areas policymakers should work on, and said the country should brace for the impact for more U.S. tariffs.
"The first is how to address the domestic challenges, especially how to further revive private consumption. So externally in the second half, don't forget that tariff risks are not going away, the U.S. tariffs. While, yes, we do have the section 122 tariffs are going to expire, but the U.S. government is likely to replace it with section 301. And also, China-EU trade negotiations is going on as well," said Wang.
China's economic growth remains resilient, challenges persist: economist
