China’s retail sales rise as consumption takes centre stage amid tariff blitz

China has reported a 4 per cent growth in consumption in the first two months of 2025, a modest increase that keeps the pressure on policymakers as China strives to achieve its ambitious annual economic growth target of “around 5 per cent”.

“A package of existing and incremental policies continued to take effect … The national economy got off to a steady start with new and positive development momentum,” the bureau said.

“However, we should be aware that the external environment is increasingly complex and severe, domestic effective demand is weak, some enterprises face difficulties in production and operation and the foundation for sustained economic recovery and growth is not strong enough.”

Data for January and February is combined to smooth out the impact of the Lunar New Year holiday, which falls at a different time each year.