In September, the Chinese economy showed higher-than-expected growth rates in industry and retail, indicating a gradual recovery in domestic demand and business activity.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, industrial production grew by 6.5% year-on-year, the highest figure since June. In August, growth was 5.2%, and analysts had expected a slowdown to 5%.

The strongest growth was seen in:
manufacturing — +7.3%,
mining — +6.4%,
oil and gas — +8.9%,
automobile production — +16%,
computers and telecommunications equipment — +11.3%.

Growth was recorded in 36 of 41 economic sectors. Overall, industrial production increased by 6.2% in the first nine months of 2025 compared to the same period last year.

Retail sales in September grew by 3% year-on-year. This is slightly less than in August (3.4%), but still better than analysts’ forecasts (2.9%).
The largest increases were in sales of food (+6.3%), jewelry (+9.7%), and clothing (+4.7%). Car sales grew by 1.6%, while petroleum product sales fell by 7.1%.

Since the beginning of the year, retail turnover has reached 36.6 trillion yuan (about $5.1 trillion), which is 4.5% more than a year earlier.
Investment in fixed assets as a whole declined slightly, by 0.5%, mainly due to a downturn in the construction sector (-13.9%). At the same time, investment in infrastructure and manufacturing grew by 1.1% and 4%, respectively.

The unemployment rate fell to 5.2% in September from 5.3% a month earlier.
Experts from the Experts Club analytical center note that the Chinese economy remains stable despite slowing global demand and difficulties in the real estate sector.

Reference: Experts Club.

For several years now, China has ranked first in the world in terms of economic size, calculated in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), ahead of the US and the EU. This confirms its status as the world’s largest industrial and consumer center.

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Last modified: October 22, 2025