Investing.com - China’s industrial profits fell 1.8% to 594.8 billion yuan in November from a year earlier, recording its first contraction since December 2015, the National Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday in Asia.
In the first 11 months of 2018, industrial profits rose 11.8% year-on-year, slower than a 13.6% rise in the January to October period, the data showed.
Slowing growth in sales and producer prices, and rising costs, contributed to the decline in profits, He ping of the statistics bureau said in a statement accompanying the data.
Meanwhile, analysts said rising trade tensions with the United States also piled pressure on China's manufacturing sector, although recent reports seemed to suggest there may be some progress made on the trade issues between the two countries.
Citing two people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported on Thursday that a U.S. government delegation would hold trade talks with Chinese officials in the week of Jan. 7.
Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish will lead the Trump administration’s team, which will also include Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs David Malpass, Bloomberg said.
The news came after China and the U.S. agreed earlier this month to delay a tariff hike on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods until Mar. 1.