China’s factory activity shrunk for a second consecutive month, further compounding the challenges for the world’s second-biggest economy. Beijing’s export-oriented industries have helped buoy the country’s economy for years as domestic consumption — weighed down by a countrywide real estate crisis and rising youth unemployment — continues to falter.
However, those drivers of growth are weakening too, with industrial profits cooling to their weakest pace so far this year. Though Beijing this year lowered its GDP growth target to 4.5-5%, its lowest range in years, experts believe its economy is very unlikely to grow at even that pace. Some suggest growth may have plateaued, something Chinese officials hope AI can change.
