China’s economic imbalance worsened in May as retail sales fell at the fastest pace in years, while industrial output accelerated, new data showed.
Analysts have long warned that the world’s second-largest economy is increasingly travelling along two tracks: While tech-driven exports soar, domestic retail sales remain paltry as a real estate market crash and cooling economic growth weigh on demand.
In response, some experts have called on Beijing to launch an economic stimulus package, a step authorities have so far been unwilling to take, worried by the country’s existing mountain of debt. “Despite the imbalance between robust factory supply and deteriorating domestic demand, Beijing is showing patience,” Commerzbank analysts wrote.
