BEIJING, May 18, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - China's consumer spending grew at the slowest pace in more than three years, official data showed Monday, a stark sign of the challenges Beijing faces to reignite domestic activity.

The world's second-largest economy has struggled to mount a strong recovery since the Covid-19 pandemic ended, despite a historic boom in exports.

Economists have long argued that China should shift towards an economic model led more by household spending than traditional drivers including exports and construction.

Retail sales growth slid to just 0.2 percent in April compared to the same month last year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

The figure represented the slowest increase since December 2022, when the country was reeling from a rapid outbreak of Covid-19 infections after the abrupt scrapping of pandemic control policies.

It missed a Bloomberg forecast of 2.0 percent in April based on a survey of economists.

Industrial production also came up short of expectations last month, the official data showed, growing 4.1 percent year-on-year, down from 5.7 percent in March.

That was the slowest increase in factory output recorded by the NBS since July of 2023.

A years-long crisis in the once-booming property sector has spooked consumers, though analysts say there have been signs of a slight recovery in the real estate market in recent months.

Beijing is targeting overall economic growth this year of between 4.5 and five percent year-on-year, down from the 2025 target of around five percent.

Official data released last month suggested that the economy was on track, though experts warn the impacts on China's economy from the still-unresolved US-Israeli war on Iran have yet to be fully seen.