China’s Industrial Profits Slow for 6th Month, Seen Weakening Further

Employees work at a production line assembling scale models of the moon rover for China's Chang'e 4 lunar probe, at a factory in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, China on Nov. 16, 2018. Reuters

BEIJING—Profit growth at China’s industrial firms cooled for a sixth straight month in October as factory prices and the pace of sales increases softened amid mounting uncertainties stemming from the U.S.–China trade war.

The figures point to further weakening in China’s vast manufacturing sector and economy days ahead of a high stakes meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which Beijing hopes could avert a major escalation in their trade dispute.