China on track to meet 2025 growth target despite mounting economic strains, Xi says

China’s economy is expected to have grown by around 5 per cent in 2025, in line with the government’s official target, President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday, despite what he described as a year of unusual strain and persistent economic pressure.

Speaking in a New Year’s Eve address to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Xi said the world’s second-largest economy had “faced challenges head-on” and managed to achieve its main economic and social objectives, according to state news agency Xinhua.

“The growth rate is expected to reach around five per cent,” Xi said, a pace that would match China’s expansion in 2024. He added that “overall social stability was maintained” through the year, while the government continued to pursue its anti-corruption campaign “relentlessly.”

China’s economy has been under sustained pressure in recent years, weighed down by a prolonged debt crisis in the property sector, weak consumer confidence following the pandemic, and industrial overcapacity. Rising trade frictions with the United States have further clouded the outlook.

Xi acknowledged that 2025 had been a “very unusual” year but struck a confident tone on Beijing’s ability to navigate the challenges. Recent data offered a modest positive signal, with factory activity in December returning to expansionary territory, ending an eight-month run of contraction in manufacturing.

Economists expect Beijing to unveil a similar growth target of around 5 per cent for 2026 at the annual National People’s Congress in March, even as policymakers grapple with slowing momentum at home and a more uncertain global environment.