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Xi Jinping said China would hit its 5 per cent growth target for 2025, striking a confident note on the economy while speaking to a political gathering in Beijing.
The Chinese leader said that 2025 had been an “extraordinary” year, with the economy defying external challenges while making advances in science and technology.
“China’s economy has advanced under pressure, shifting towards new and higher-quality growth, demonstrating strong resilience and vitality,” he said in an address to Beijing’s top political advisory body on Wednesday, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
Xi added that China’s economic, technological, defence and overall national strength had “reached new heights” as the country concluded its latest five-year plan.
While strong exports have helped power China’s growth this year, the world’s second-largest economy continues to grapple with a prolonged property sector crisis that has weighed on consumer spending and investment.
Beijing has pledged to step up efforts to revive consumption, a long-standing weak spot in the economy of 1.4bn people, including through expanded fiscal support. The government this week unveiled more funding for a consumer goods trade-in scheme to support sales of white goods and electronics.
Xi said China’s full-year growth for 2025 was expected to be “around 5 per cent”, meeting its target and in line with growth in 2024, keeping the country among the world’s leading major economies. He projected total output of roughly Rmb140tn ($20tn).
China’s economy grew 4.8 per cent in the third quarter, its slowest pace in a year.
Xi also said China had injected “positive energy” into an international order marked by instability and division, pointing to Beijing’s push for new global governance initiatives and a greater role for multilateral institutions.
The Chinese leader is also expected to make a public address on Wednesday evening.
Xi also exchanged New Year’s messages with his close ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the leaders pledging deeper co-operation in the coming year, according to Xinhua.
Xi said two face-to-face meetings in Beijing and Moscow in 2025 had advanced bilateral ties, leading to the rollout of mutual visa-free travel policies and progress on cross-border energy infrastructure.
Looking ahead, Xi said 2026 would mark the beginning of China’s next five-year plan, with policy focused on boosting growth while maintaining macroeconomic stability.
Guidelines for the new plan, which is expected to be approved in March, highlighted the importance of strengthening consumption but showed that Beijing remained focused on stepping up high-tech manufacturing and achieving self-reliance in science and industry in the face of long-term rivalry with the US.
“The blueprint has been drawn,” Xi said. “It is time to press ahead.”
