A last gasp for Chinese growth

Tuesday 17 March 2026

China’s January/February growth numbers were out yesterday and showed some broad strength.

Industrial production growth increased to 6.3% yoy in January-February from 5.2% yoy in December due to significantly stronger-than-expected exports.

Fixed asset investment (FAI) growth significantly increased from -13.0% yoy in December to +1.8% yoy in January-February. However, there is weirdness in this data owing to NBS revisions fiddling.

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About the author

David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.