Overall, "there is some deceleration but it's not catastrophic, " said Rosealea Yao, an analyst at Dragonomics Research.

WSJ: China Construction Starts Slowed in 2011

Even these robust retail sales understate the strength of consumer spending, says Arthur Kroeber of Dragonomics, a Beijing-based economic research firm.

ECONOMIST: China's households are not as tight-fisted as you think

Overall, Dragonomics's Mr Kroeber thinks that GDP growth in the year to the first quarter of 2009 was not significantly overstated.

ECONOMIST: Is China overstating its true rate of growth?

Demand for steel slowed in May to 6.7% year-on-year, after an 11% rise in April, according to GK Dragonomics in Beijing.

FORBES: A New Foundation: Chinese Developers Back On Real-Estate Tiger

As Janet Zhang of GaveKal Dragonomics points out, China's steel exports in May were 89% higher than their average over the previous four months.

ECONOMIST: Global rebalancing

Arthur Kroeber of GK Dragonomics, a consultancy, says the country still enjoys a considerable tailwind from urbanisation and a huge potential for productivity gains as it adopts new technology.

ECONOMIST: China��s roaring growth cannot last indefinitely