Official figures showed modest growth in the second quarter as exports shifted to other countries and Beijing invested in manufacturing and infrastructure.
China’s economy grew at a steady pace in the spring, according to official figures, bolstered by domestic investment in factories and big projects like high-speed rail lines and a continued flood of exports throughout the world.
In the second quarter of the year, from April through June, China’s economy grew 1.1 percent over the previous three months, the National Bureau of Statistics announced on Tuesday. If that pace continues, the economy will expand at an annual rate of about 4.1 percent — only slightly slower than the growth in the first three months of this year.
The report on China’s gross domestic product, or G.D.P., shows how the country’s manufacturing-focused economy has endured President Trump’s steep tariffs, which briefly reached 145 percent in late April and early May. Trade data released on Monday showed that China’s exports to the United States began to rebound in June, after the countries reached a tariff truce in mid-May, but remain depressed.
China’s exports to other countries, however, have jumped, particularly goods sent to Southeast Asia — many of which are re-exported to the United States — and to Europe and Africa.
Retail sales in China fell slightly in June compared with May as the slow-motion crash of the housing market continued to weigh on consumer spending. That weakness underscored China’s increasing dependence on overseas demand to keep its ever-growing factory sector busy.
