Xu Tianchen

"Several divides characterised the economy in May: the divide between domestic and external demand, the divide between AI and the traditional industries, and the divide between goods retail and services consumption."

"For full-year 2026, achieving the growth target of 4.5-5% won't be difficult, but soft domestic demand still warrants policy intervention in the second half."

"This explains the decline across the low-value added sectors, textiles, garments, bags, toys, furniture, as they are reliant on migrant workers."

"The figures were further muddied by the seasonal effects of a late Chinese New Year national holiday."