Judging by the latest reports from Chinese companies, the world’s second-largest economy still has a challenging stretch ahead.
Take earnings reports in the last few weeks from the country’s technology giants:
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Search engine Baidu posted its first quarterly loss since listing in 2005, according to Reuters.
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Gaming and social media company Tencent reported its slowest quarterly revenue growth on record, up 16%, according to Reuters. That’s despite a boost in revenue from its financial technology and cloud businesses.
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Alibaba posted solid growth for the latest quarter. But excluding acquisition costs, Alibaba’s 2019 fiscal year revenue grew 39%, missing last year’s forecast. For the 12 months ahead, the e-commerce company expects revenue growth of at least 33%.
Then on Monday, China’s National Bureau of Statistics said industrial profits fell 3.4% in the first four months of this year.
Private businesses are key to the economic and social well being of China since they contribute to 90% of new jobs and 70% of technological innovation and new products, according to state news agency Xinhua. And for a country controlled by a single party, maintaining social stability is key.