The strong impetus was driven in part by the country’s longest Lunar New Year holiday in February. The festivities helped boost total tourism spending by almost 19 per cent from the same holiday period last year, which was one day shorter. But domestic tourism spending per trip dipped 0.2 per cent, suggesting consumers remain cautious.
Data from earlier last week showed passenger vehicle sales at home tumbled 26 per cent year-on-year in January-February, hurt by the end of a tax break and scaled-back government subsidies for electric vehicles.
China combines January and February data releases to smooth out distortions from the festival holidays, which can fall in either month.
Monday’s data provided another encouraging sign for policymakers as an unexpected upturn in investment took some of the sting off the challenge of a protracted downturn in the critical property sector.
Fixed asset investment, which includes property and infrastructure investment, expanded 1.8 per cent in the first two months, versus expectations for a 2.1 per cent drop. It fell 3.8 per cent in 2025, the first annual drop in about three decades.
The overall data, while showing some positive momentum, still suggest a wide gap between robust external demand and sluggish household consumption that analysts warn could hamper China’s long-term growth prospects. Last week’s lending data pointed to a continued slump in household borrowing.
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