China’s fixed-asset investment declined by 1.6% year-on-year in January–April 2026, defying market expectations of a 1.6% increase and reversing the 1.7% growth recorded in the first quarter. Property investment remained the main drag, contracting by 13.7% after an 11.2% drop in January–March. Growth also softened in other key areas: infrastructure investment slowed to 4.3% from 8.9%, and manufacturing investment eased to 1.2% from 4.1%.
By sector, investment in the primary industry rose 10.1%, down from 15.9%, while secondary industry investment grew 2.5%, compared with 5.8% previously. Tertiary industry investment fell by 4.2%, widening from a 1.0% decline. Excluding the property sector, overall fixed-asset investment increased by 1.3% in the first four months, a sharp slowdown from 4.8% growth in the first quarter. On a month-on-month basis, fixed-asset investment fell by 2.36% in April, following a 0.58% decrease in March.
