China Manufacturers Cast Gloomy Outlook As Record of Investment Strikes

The declaration this month that the U.S. and China reached a tentative trade agreement came at the end of a difficult year for several Chinese manufacturers. Combined with the confusion generated by the trade war and challenges in securing financing, punitive tariffs have lowered the trust of manufacturers.

In the first 11 months of the year, China's fixed asset investment growth in its manufacturing sector plummeted to 2.5 perce....