Official: China recovery faces pressure after April activity weaker than expected

BEIJING (AP) — An official says China’s economic recovery faces pressure from sluggish consumer and export demand. That is after retail sales and other activity in April were weaker than expected. Chinese activity accelerated while U.S. and European economic growth is cooling following interest rate hikes to extinguish inflation. But consumer spending, an important economic engine, is taking longer than expected to recover after most Chinese curbs on business activity and travel ended in December. A government spokesperson says the “recovery of demand is still insufficient” and exporters face a ”complex and severe” environment. Official data showed growth in retail sales accelerated to 18.4% over a year earlier in April, but that was below private sector expectations of up to 35%.