BEIJING—Earnings at China’s industrial firms shrank for a second straight month in December, putting pressure on policymakers to support industries hurt by slowing prices and weak factory activity amid a protracted U.S.-Sino trade war.
The downbeat data points to more troubles ahead for the country’s vast manufacturing sector already struggling with a decline in orders, job layoffs and factory closures as China’s economic growth slows to its weakest in nearly three decades.
