China on Tuesday reported slower-than-expected growth in factory output and retail sales for October, as a surge in Covid cases and a deepening property slump weighs on the economy.

China is the only major economy persisting with a zero-Covid strategy to stamp out virus clusters as they emerge, but swift and harsh lockdowns associated with that approach have battered growth.

October retail sales were down 0.5 percent from a year earlier, contracting for the first time since May, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The figure was below a 0.7 percent increase expected by Bloomberg analysts and September's 2.5 percent expansion.

Industrial output grew 5.0 percent, less than the 5.3 percent growth forecast and well below the 6.3 gain in September.

"In the face of multiple challenges such as a more complex and severe international environment and new domestic (Covid) outbreaks... (officials are) stepping up efforts to implement various measures to stabilise the economy," the NBS said in a statement.

China's banking regulator on Friday unveiled sweeping measures to rescue the country's struggling property sector with credit support for debt-laden housing developers, and financial help to ensure the completion and handover of projects.

That came on the same day the National Health Commission issued 20 rules for "optimising" China's zero-Covid policy, where certain restrictions were relaxed to limit its social and economic impact.

Fixed-asset investment rose 5.8 percent in January-October as the government poured billions of dollars into building new railways and industrial parks, NBS data showed.

The unemployment rate remained stable at 5.5 percent.

Many analysts expect the world's second-largest economy to struggle to reach its growth target this year of around 5.5 percent, with the International Monetary Fund lowering its forecast for GDP expansion to 3.2 percent.

AFP