Lana

But domestic buyers weren't as generous.

Retail sales picked up by just 0.9%, the slowest since pandemic times, partly because a weak jobs market squashed budgets and confidence.

The property sector is still a sore spot.

Real estate investments lumped around 17% over the year, and home prices kept sliding.

Plus, investment in fixed assets, like machinery and factories, fell for the first time since records began.

Policymakers are signaling more support, but with government debt already high, you shouldn't expect a big bazooka.

That means imbalance between international and domestic demand will likely last well into 2026 or beyond.

exports made up roughly a third of China's economy last year, the highest share since the late 1990s.

But the more China leans on those international sales, the more exposed it is to tariffs, tighter trade rules, and political blowback.

And unless demand at home starts to do more of the work, today's pace could be tough to maintain.

China's population is shrinking faster than expected.

It just declined for the fourth year in a row, with birth numbers the lowest on record.

That aging population is already putting pressure on the country's economy.

And as the workforce shrinks further, it'll only get harder to increase productivity.

That's why the government is pushing for more automation, rolling out newer technology, and encouraging workers to upgrade their skills.

That's it for today.

I'm Lana.

I'll see you tomorrow.

Hey, I'm Lana with your daily brief for Saturday, January 17th.

Coming up, China and Canada marked a relationship milestone, building on their own thing outside of the US.