China’s fixed-asset investment excluding rural households fell 7.2% year on year to RMB 29.3092 trillion in the first eight months of 2026, widening from a 6.7% decline through July, while August goods imports and exports rose 19.8%. The National Bureau of Statistics described August performance as "three stables, two fasts": stable production, employment and prices, alongside rapid growth in emerging industries and trade. Domestic demand remained weak, with August retail sales up just 0.4% and new bank lending at RMB 60 billion, while industrial production expanded 5.2%. High-tech manufacturing and digital-product manufacturing grew 16.7% and 15.7%, respectively, and new growth drivers contributed more than 60% of above-scale industrial output. Beijing targeted annual growth of 4.5% to 5.0% and announced a RMB 360 billion capital injection into eight state-owned banks and insurers, including about RMB 290 billion for banks, while further fiscal support remained under consideration.