China’s fixed-asset investment declined by 7.2% year-on-year in January–September 2026, unchanged from the contraction seen in the first eight months but slightly better than market expectations for a 7.3% drop.
Property investment remained the main drag, tumbling 20.6% after a 19.9% fall in January–August, weighed down by weak housing demand, falling home prices, and persistent financing pressures on developers.
Infrastructure investment shrank further (-4.2% vs -4.0%), while the downturn in manufacturing investment eased slightly (-2.1% vs -2.3%). Investment also declined across all three major sectors: primary industry (-3.9% vs -2.4%), secondary industry (-2.7% vs -2.9%), and tertiary industry (-10.0% vs -9.9%).
Excluding the property sector, fixed-asset investment fell 4.2% in the first nine months, the same rate of decline as in January–August. On a monthly basis, fixed-asset investment inched up 0.07% in September, following a 0.55% drop in August.
