Hong Kong (CNN Business) China's economic slowdown keeps getting worse. That could give the country incentive to repair its trading relationship with the United States and take more steps to stimulate its economy.

The country released data Monday that showed industrial production — an important indicator for China's economy — increased by just 4.4% in August compared to a year earlier. That's worse than the sector's performance in July, when it grew by 4.8%, its weakest growth in 17 years.

Industrial production is important because it measures the output of key businesses in China's manufacturing, mining and utilities sectors. The latest figure was also worse than the 5.2% growth that analysts polled by Reuters expected.

Other data released Monday by China's National Bureau of Statistics was also poor. Retail sales growth slowed to 7.5% in August, down from July's 7.6% year-on-year uptick.

The world's second biggest economy has been struggling because of its trade war with the United States. It's also facing domestic challenges as it tries to rely less on debt to fuel growth.

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