BEIJING, April 16, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - China on Wednesday said industrial output soared by 6.5 percent in the first quarter of the year, up from 5.7 percent in Q4 of 2024, as exporters rushed to get goods out of factory gates ahead of swingeing new US tariffs.

Retail sales, a key gauge of consumer demand, were also up 4.6 percent year-on-year, Beijing's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.