SINGAPORE—Activity in China’s services sector tumbled in March at its fastest pace since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, as lockdowns aimed at smothering outbreaks in major cities kept millions at home and pummeled consumer spending.
The data add to signs the world’s second-largest economy will struggle to meet Beijing’s growth goals for the year as authorities wrestle with China’s worst Covid-19 outbreak in two years. Cases have triggered lockdowns in parts of the country as distant as the southern technology hub of Shenzhen and the northeastern industrial province of Jilin.
