Beijingers Feel The Pinch As Economic Data Disappoints

Shopping online, skipping meals out and a general sense that decades of double-digit growth are very much a thing of the past -- Beijingers told AFP Monday they were feeling the pinch as the economy slowed.

Chinese authorities on Monday said the country's economy had expanded by just 4.7 percent in the second quarter, some of its slowest progress in years and a sign that official efforts to revive growth were not working.

The grim data came the same day as top Communist Party officials sat down for a closed-door conclave which analysts are eyeing closely for any hint of help for the ailing economy.

But on the streets of Beijing, passersby said they were not expecting growth to bounce back anytime soon.

"I think the economy is really under pressure," Yu Qi, a 55-year-old insurance industry worker, said.

"This year, it's really the case for everyone, whether it's businesses or individuals, we're really feeling that pressure," he explained.

Yu told AFP the economic malaise felt even worse than it did during the Covid-19, when crippling state-enforced lockdown stalled productivity.

"That's the general impression that I and all my friends have," he said.

A key drag on the Chinese economy has been waning consumption.

Data on Monday showed retail sales had slumped again last month to just two percent -- down from 3.7 in May.

Thirty-nine-year-old Zhao Qing, said she was trying to cut down on her spending.

"Two years ago, we used to go out for hotpot in restaurants. But now, to save a bit, we're cooking at home instead," Zhao told AFP.

The same goes for clothes, she said, which she used to go to department stores to buy.

"Now I tend to go online or to small boutiques to buy cheaper items," she said.

"As long as it fits me, that's enough for me."

President Xi Jinping has promised "major" reforms and officials say they want to reorient the economy away from state-funded investment -- basing growth instead around high-tech innovation and domestic consumption.

Beijing has said it is aiming for five percent growth this year -- enviable for many Western countries but a far cry from the double-digit expansion that for years drove the Chinese economy.

Li Xiaojing, 43, told AFP she remembered those years of "staggering" growth -- and said it was "understandable" that the economy was re-calibrating now.

"But we are worried about the future, we think that the economy is going to stagnate for a relatively long time, so there is some pessimism," she said.

"The desire to consume is diminishing," Li said.

"Everyone is tending to manage their money a bit more strictly and to save more."