China's Q2 2026 growth slows to 4.3 percent, the weakest since late 2022 and below expectations

China's National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, that the country's gross domestic product grew 4.3 percent year on year in the second quarter of 2026, below analysts' 4.5 percent forecast and slower than the 5.0 percent expansion in the first quarter. It was the weakest growth rate since the end of 2022.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the Chinese economy expanded 0.9 percent. First-half 2026 GDP reached 69.57 trillion yuan (about 10.3 trillion dollars), with growth over the six months at 4.7 percent.

According to the data, weak domestic demand and the oil-price shock from the Iran war offset stronger production and exports. A slowdown in China, the largest buyer of Iranian crude, matters for the outlook for oil exports and energy demand.