THE country is on track to meet its growth target of around 5% this year and will roll out more proactive policies in 2026, President Xi Jinping said, amplifying promises for more stimulus to power economic growth.
China’s gross domestic product is expected to have reached 140 trillion yuan (RM81.1 trillion) this year, with defence and science and technology in particular having reached new levels, Xi said in a New Year’s address televised by state broadcaster CCTV.
The country’s GDP growth rate is expected to be around 5% after an “extraordinary” year, Xi told a New Year’s tea party of top Chinese Communist Party officials on the same day, CCTV reported.
That means the economy will have hit this year’s growth target set by policymakers, buoyed partly by goods exports, which proved resilient despite a heated trade war with the United States.
Xi did not unveil any specific policies in his New Year’s messages, but vowed to improve the quality of the economy while maintaining “reasonable growth”, and reiterated his “common prosperity” pledge.
In his address during the tea party, Xi pledged “more proactive” macro policies, which could allay worries over the slowdown seen during the second half of 2025 in the world’s second-largest economy.
Despite exports holding up, growth momentum has faltered, weighed down by soft household consumption, persistent deflation and a prolonged property sector crisis.
China’s trade surplus, which topped US$1 trillion for the first time in November, could lead to more tensions with trade partners, some of which are calling on China to do more to reform its economy and reduce its dependence on exports to support growth.
“Our country’s economy is expected to move forward under pressure ... showing strong resilience and vitality,” Xi told party officials.
Xi’s policy pledge is in line with an agenda-setting economic meeting this month, where Chinese leaders promised to maintain a “proactive” fiscal policy next year, including “special actions to boost consumption”. — Reuters
