China’s economy slowed in the second quarter even as it topped market forecast in a show of resilience against U.S. tariffs, though analysts warn of underlying weakness and rising risks that will ramp up pressure on Beijing to roll out more stimulus.

China's economic growth slowed to 5.2% year-over-year in Q2 2025, its weakest pace since Q3 2024 and down from 5.4% in the preceding two quarters. Despite this deceleration, the Q2 figure slightly exceeded the 5.

China has set an ambitious full-year growth target of around 5%. The National Bureau of Statistics data revealed that the country's GDP grew by 1.1% in the April-June period on a quarterly basis. This was higher than the forecasted 0.9% increase but slightly lower than the previous quarter's 1.2% gain.