China’s Industrial Profits Shrink Most Since Late 2011 as Economy Cools

A man works in the Tianye Tolian Heavy Industry Co. factory in Qinhuangdao in the QHD economic development zone, Hebei Province, China on Dec. 2, 2016. Thomas Peter/Reuters

BEIJING—China’s industrial firms posted their worst slump in profits since late 2011 in the first two months of this year, data showed on March 27, as increasing strains on the economy in the face of slowing demand at home and abroad took a toll on businesses.

The sharp decline in profits suggests further trouble for the world’s second largest economy, which expanded at its slowest pace in almost three decades last year. The government has already lowered the economic growth target this year to 6.0-6.5 percent, from the actual rate of 6.6 percent in 2018.