Residents line up for a Covid-19 test in Shanghai, in June. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg Bloomberg News China’s economy weakened further in July amid a resurgence in Covid outbreaks, China Beige Book International said, warning that market optimism about a rebound is misplaced. Factory output and new orders slowed to a pace not seen since the middle of 2020, and retail sector employment was the worst in more than two years, according to the latest survey from CBBI, a provider of independent economic data. Revenue growth for manufacturers and retailers deteriorated, curbing profits, it said. After a reprieve in June, when Covid restrictions in places like Shanghai and elsewhere were eased, virus cases flared up again in multiple regions, a threat to the economy’s fragile recovery. Factory activity unexpectedly contracted in July and property sales continued to shrink, data published Sunday showed. Top leaders have signaled a softening on this […]