China's industrial output growth slows down in August

China's industrial output slowed in August, while investment and retail sales both saw milder growth. The slower growth can be attributed to the government's fresh efforts to cut industrial overcapacity, said Liu Aihua, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics.

The country’s value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, grew by 6 percent in August from a year earlier, down from the 6.4 percent in July, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Thursday.

Fixed-asset investment grew by 7.8 percent year-on-year in the first eight months of this year, down from 8.3 percent for the January-July period.

Retail sales rose by 10.1 percent in August from a year earlier, cooling from July's 10.4 percent pace.

Growth of private investment slowed to 6.4 percent in January-August from 6.9 percent in the first seven months of the year, suggesting small- and medium-sized private firms still face challenges in accessing financing.

The government is targeting annual economic growth of around 6.5 percent this year, down from the 6.7-percent pace clocked in 2016.