China reports retail sales growth for first two months of year

China lifted strict COVID-19 rules at the end of 2022, but its first months of reopening are off to a disappointing start. Real estate investments fell and retail sales remained sluggish. Big-ticket items and home appliances saw the largest declines in sales, while trade in online physical goods rose the most. Unemployment in cities also ticked up to 5.6 percent in February, and the unemployment rate for young people remains persistently high, standing at over 18 percent. A deeply indebted housing sector and graying demographics also weigh on long-term prospects for China's economic growth. But Asian stocks are up today, lifted by optimism that US regulators have contained contagion risk from Silicon Valley Bank's collapse last week.