China's economic imbalance deepens as retail sales fall for first time in over three years

Retail sales fell 0.6% in May—the first monthly drop since Dec 2022—with car sales down for an eighth straight month as consumers pull back.
Industrial output picked up to 4.5% year‑on‑year, powered by resilient exports and a roughly 15% surge in high‑tech manufacturing tied to AI demand.
Fixed‑asset investment and property activity plunged (investment −4.1%, property −16.2%), stoking concerns about jobs and the strength of the domestic recovery.