China's economy grows at 4.3%, one of its lowest rates on record

China's economy grew at an annual rate of 4.3 percent in the second quarter of 2026, one of the slowest rates since the country began its economic transformation four decades ago, as a prolonged property slump and weak consumer confidence continued to drag on growth.

The figure, released by the National Bureau of Statistics, undershot most analyst expectations and prompted a renewed round of government stimulus measures, including interest rate cuts and increased infrastructure spending. But economists warned that the structural headwinds facing China's economy — a shrinking workforce, a debt-laden property sector, and rising trade tensions with the West — could not be solved by monetary policy alone.

The property sector, which once accounted for roughly a quarter of China's economic output, remains in a deep contraction. Major developers continue to default on debt payments, and homebuyers, spooked by unfinished projects and falling prices, are staying away from the market. The government has tried to stabilise the sector with a series of measures, but confidence has not returned.

The slowdown has global implications. China is the world's second-largest economy and the largest trading partner for more than 120 countries. Weaker Chinese demand has already hit commodity exporters from Australia to Brazil, and a prolonged downturn would dampen global growth at a time when many advanced economies are also struggling with sluggish productivity and elevated debt levels.

Beijing has signalled that it is prepared to accept slower growth as the price of shifting the economy away from property and towards advanced manufacturing and green technology. But the transition is proving more painful than officials anticipated, and the pressure to deliver jobs and income growth for China's 1.4 billion people is intensifying.