China reported better-than-expected industrial output and retail sales on Friday, but a key investment gauge fell to a fresh record low, highlighting the challenges facing Beijing as it tries to support the economy in the face of rising U.S. tariffs.

The data, along with earlier softer readings on trade and credit growth, reinforce consensus views that the world's second-largest economy is cooling but not at risk of a sharp slowdown yet.

Industrial output rose 6.1 percent in August from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said, slightly more than analysts had expected and a tick better than July.