China’s economic growth slowed to 6.2% in the second quarter, its lowest in 27 years, amid a trade war with the United States and weakening global demand.

The Gross Domestic Product growth was down from 6.4% growth in the first quarter. The figures, however, were within the government’s target range of 6-6.5% for the whole year, down from the 6.6% growth in 2018.

“The unbalanced and inadequate development at home is still acute, and the economy is under new downward pressure,” said the National Bureau of Statistics. It added that the figures pointed to a “complex environment” both at home and abroad. The bureau said the economy performed “within the reasonable range” in the first half of the year and “has sustained the momentum of progress in overall stability”.

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In June, China had said the United States had agreed not to impose new tariffs on its exports. The announcement came after a meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka in Japan. The two presidents also agreed to resume trade consultations but there has been no official statement yet on the trade talks.

“As such risk assets will respond favourably but it is hard to escape the economic realities that the US-China trade war is having on global economies,” AFP quoted Stephen Innes, managing partner at Vanguard Markets, as saying.

“Uncertainty caused by the US-China trade war was an important factor and we think this will persist,” Tom Rafferty, principal economist on China at The Economist Intelligence Unit told CNN. He added that businesses were skeptical about the two countries reaching a broader trade agreement.

Beijing introduced a slew of measures this year to boost the economy, but they have not been enough to offset a domestic slowdown and softening overseas demand. It announced massive tax cuts and a quota for special bond issuance by local governments to boost infrastructure construction.