Retail sales edged up 1.3 percent year-on-year in November, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, the weakest pace since December 2022, when stringent zero-Covid measures ended.

The reading was also well short of a Bloomberg forecast of 2.9 percent, the same as October's figure.

Beijing has in recent years sought to revive consumer sentiment in the domestic economy, which has been battered by a prolonged debt crisis in the country's vast property market.

Despite the spending slump, China's economy has been supported by robust exports, which have remained resilient in the face of this year's fierce trade war with the United States.

Factory activity growth also weakened last month, NBS data showed, sliding to 4.8 percent year-on-year -- the slowest in more than a year.

That figure narrowly missed a Bloomberg forecast of five percent and was also slightly down from 4.9 percent in October.

Chinese leaders last week held a key meeting focused on the economy at which they pledged to boost consumption, stabilise the property market and create more employment opportunities, state media reported.