(Yicai) May 18 -- China’s economic indicators broadly cooled last month after stronger-than-expected growth in the first quarter, with industrial production and consumer spending both slowing from March and fixed-asset investment slipping into negative territory.

Industrial production rose 4.1 percent in April from a year earlier, down from a 5.7 percent expansion in the prior month, according to data released today by the National Bureau of Statistics. In the first four months, industrial output gained 5.6 percent.

Retail sales of consumer goods edged up just 0.2 percent, slowing from 1.7 percent growth in March. From January to April, sales rose 1.9 percent. Meanwhile, fixed-asset investment tumbled 1.6 percent in the four months ended April 30, after increasing 1.7 percent in the first quarter.

All three indicators came in below forecasts by 13 chief economists polled by Yicai. They had expected a 5.8 percent increase for industrial production, 2 percent for consumer goods sales, and 1.7 percent for fixed-asset investment.

The slowdown in some April indicators reflects normal month-to-month fluctuations, NBS spokesperson Wang Guanghua said at a press briefing today. Broader cumulative, macroeconomic, and structural indicators still point to a stable economy overall, he said.

Gross domestic product expanded by a better-than-expected 5 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, according to figures released earlier by the NBS. That was 0.5 percentage point faster than in the fourth quarter of last year. Growth in production and consumer goods sales reached 6.1 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively, an increase of 1.1 points and 0.7 point on the final quarter of 2025.

China still faces domestic and external economic pressures, but it also has opportunities for industrial upgrading through the development of new quality productive forces unleashed by further reforms as well as policy tools already prepared to address risks and support stable growth, Wang said.

In the first four months, output from equipment and high-tech manufacturers jumped 8.7 percent and 12.6 percent year on year, outperforming overall industrial production by 3.1 points and 7 points. Notably, output of 3D printing equipment, lithium-ion batteries, and industrial robots surged 51 percent, 36 percent and 26 percent.

Retail sales of services rose 5.6 percent in the January to April period from a year earlier, up from 5.5 percent in the first quarter. Rapid growth was seen in telecom and information services, tourism and rental services, cultural and recreational services, and transportation-related services.

The development and expansion of these new growth drivers are the result of policy support, market demand, and technological innovation working together, Wang said. These deep structural changes are reshaping the drivers of China’s economic growth and strengthening the resilience and sustainability of high-quality development, she added.

Editor: Kim Taylor