China Industrial Profits Drop as Demand From Overseas Stalls

(Bloomberg) — China’s industrial companies’ profits fell in March as exports flagged and deflationary pressures persisted, suggesting the economy’s stronger-than-expected growth early this year might be tough to maintain.

Industrial profits at large-scale Chinese companies declined 3.5% from a year earlier in March, according to data published by the National Bureau of Statistics on Saturday. For the first three months of the year, profits rose 4.3% to 1.51 trillion yuan ($208 billion), slowing from a post-Covid rebound.