China economic slowdown 2025-2026
One page that accretes the verified record as the story develops. Every fact keeps its date and its sources.
China rejects G20 statement on export reliance as protectionist
China and the European Union have been engaged in trade talks as Europe wants to reduce its record trade deficit with China by October.
China accused other G20 nations of "promoting protectionism" after they criticized economies that rely heavily on exports.
EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič warned that Beijing must deliver "concrete results" by October or face "harsher measures."
China slowdown pushes New Zealand exporters to diversify
New Zealand supplies more than half of China's dairy imports.
New Zealand's China-bound goods in 2025 were close to double that of the U.S. and Australia combined, according to the New Zealand China Council.
A bilateral trade agreement granted duty-free access for all New Zealand dairy products to China in 2024.
BYD shares slide on first-half earnings amid China competition
BYD shares fell nearly 5% in Hong Kong on Monday following the release of its interim results on Friday.
BYD's second-quarter net profit stood at 8.2 billion yuan ($1.2 billion), up 30% from a year earlier.
Citi expects BYD's third-quarter core earnings to reach 13.5 billion yuan.
China factory activity contracts for second straight month
New export orders rebounded to 50.1 in August from 49.6 in July.
The NBS sub-indexes tracking production and new orders expanded to 50.4 and 50.6 respectively in August.
Zhiwei Zhang of Pinpoint Asset Management said the rise of commodity prices may have benefited some upstream manufacturing firms, though price gains were driven by supply constraints as demand remained weak.
US counters China as Beijing's economic shock wave hits African economies
In 2025, Chinese exports to Africa hit $225 billion in value, whereas imports from Africa were roughly $123 billion.
Chinese government-owned carmaker Chery has recently bought South Africa's Nissan plant and will make Chinese models such as Jetour near Johannesburg.
American goods traded with Africa last year were valued at $83.4 billion according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative.
China industrial profits growth cools to slowest in seven months
Profit decline in furniture manufacturing steepened to 58.2% for the first seven months of the year.
China's industrial profits in July expanded 11.2% from a year earlier.
For the first seven months of this year, China's industrial profits climbed 17.6% from a year earlier.
China's super-rich seek return to Singapore
Tokyo had become attractive to wealthy Chinese in recent years as a weak yen made property to luxury goods cheaper.
New rules affecting offshore trusts require wealthy families to disclose structures and potential tax liabilities.
Stricter compliance checks, lengthy bank onboarding and residency requirements pushed some Chinese families toward Hong Kong, Dubai and Tokyo.
“Wealth owners from a diverse range of countries choose Singapore for many reasons, including our high standards of regulation, strong rule of law, and a comprehensive ecosystem of wealth managers and professional service providers,”
CNBC Analyzes US Consumer Brands Losing Market Share in China
Ford reported a 32.4% decrease in China sales between 2018 and 2022.
Starbucks entered mainland China in 1999, and the country grew into its second-largest market by 2015.
General Motors' annual earnings in China dropped from roughly $2 billion in 2018 to consecutive annual losses in 2024 and 2025.
“The market is going through a transition as we see an increase in mass market competitors, which we believe will shake out over time, and the market will emerge looking fundamentally different than what we see today,”
Founder of Evergrande sentenced to life in prison
Beijing introduced measures in 2020 to control debt in the country's property sector.
Evergrande's real estate unit was ordered to pay 7bn yuan.
Evergrande collapsed in 2021.
Alibaba shares fall 3% as AI spending drives 75% drop in net income
“With our full‑stack AI strategy, we have put Alibaba in a superior position to capture the substantial growth of demand for artificial intelligence and AI compute,”
China's monthly inflation cools as Iran war impact eases
China reports slowest GDP growth since 2022 at 4.3%
Beijing discontinued the youth unemployment rate in 2023 after it surged to a record 21.3% before reinstating it under a new methodology.
A separate survey showed China's broad unemployment rate at 10.2%, with more than half of roughly 24 million long-term unemployed aged 16 to 24.
Chinese urban unemployment rate remained steady at 5% in June.