Xi says China’s economy on course to expand by 5% despite Trump concerns
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President seeks to allay fears that world’s second-largest economy will falter in 2025 due to high US tariffs. China’s economy is on course to expand by 5% in 2025, according to president Xi Jinping, meeting official growth targets and rebutting concerns that Donald Trump’s incoming US administration will harm Beijing’s prospects in the new year.
Using his annual address to the nation, Xi sought to allay fears that the world’s second-largest economy would falter over the next 12 months after the government battled to prevent a slide towards recession during 2024. Xi said China’s economy was “overall stable and progressing,” in a speech published by the official Xinhua news agency. He said risks in key areas were effectively addressed, while employment and prices remained steady.
The speech followed the December meeting of the Communist party politburo which was widely viewed as signalling the strongest commitment to economic stimulus in a decade, marking a shift towards more aggressive subsidies and cuts to the cost of borrowing.
“The current economic operation faces some new situations, challenges from the uncertainty of the external environment and pressure of transformation from old drivers of growth into new ones, but these can be overcome through hard work,” Xi said. Trump is preparing to impose high tariffs on Chinese imports to punish what the incoming US president believes are unfair subsidies for Chinese industrial products.
