Tech outperforms traditional sectors as China’s uneven recovery set to fuel AI stock revival

China’s K-shaped economic recovery is likely to keep investors betting on artificial-intelligence stocks, as the latest data indicates the tech sector remains a key driver for growth while consumption and property continue to act as drags, according to analysts.

Manufacturing output for industrial robots, electric vehicles and semiconductors each grew at least 20 per cent year on year in July, defying a weakness in the broader economy, according to official statistics. China’s key economic indicators all fell short of economists’ estimates last month, with retail sales rising at a slower pace and the decline in fixed-asset investments deepening.

Consumption and the housing market still accounted for roughly 70 per cent of the world’s second-largest economy, according to Barclays.

The scenario may bolster the case for a speedy revival of the AI trade that stumbled last month, when a global sell-off drove a key gauge of China’s tech stocks to its steepest monthly decline. The Star Market 50 index, predominantly made up of chipmakers trading on the Shanghai exchange, rebounded more than 9 per cent in August, recouping some of the 26 per cent slump in the previous month.

Visitors study an AI computing cabinet at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, July 28, 2025. Photo: CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images

“There’s a big chance that technology stocks will revisit their highs of June and there’s more room for the rebound to run,” said Zheng Xiaoxia, an analyst at Hua An Securities. “The resilience of the tech industry will be confirmed in the interim reports coming in late August.”