CHINA's industrial production grew at the slowest rate in four months in July, adding to signs of a weak start to the third quarter as a deep property slowdown, reports London's Financial Times.

Industrial production rose 5.1 per cent year on year in July, official data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed, slightly a 5.2 per cent increase forecast by economists polled by Bloomberg, and 5.3 per cent growth the previous month.

Unemployment was 5.2 per cent in July, in line with analysts' forecasts and a rise from five per cent in June and the first increase in unemployment since February.

President Xi Jinping has focused on industry, particularly in the high-tech manufacturing sector, to bolster China's economy as a three-year property slump has hit household consumption and undermined investor confidence.