China's economic resilience: new policies to buoy growth after achieving 2024 target

BEIJING, Feb. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from Beijing Review:

Having reached its 2024 target, China is poised to continue promoting economic growth by exploring new drivers, analysts said.

China's economy reached its annual growth target for 2024, with gross domestic product (GDP) expanding 5 percent year on year to reach 134.9084 trillion yuan ($18.5 trillion), according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) at a press conference on January 17.

In the third quarter of 2024, the Central Government introduced a series of incremental policies to encourage consumption and the creation of a more favorable business environment to boost the economy, which played a key role in achieving the full-year target, Kang Yi, Commissioner of the NBS, told the press conference.

"The supporting policies stabilized the stock and housing markets and boosted domestic demand. China's economy made a robust rebound in 2024," Xu Hongcai, Deputy Director of the Economic Policy Commission at the China Association of Policy Science, told Beijing Review. Xu noted that the quick ascent was aided by better-than-expected export performance and growing investment in hi-tech industries.

According to the statistics released by the General Administration of Customs of China, China's import and export value reached 43.85 trillion yuan ($6 trillion) in 2024, a 5-percent year-on-year increase and a new historical high. Exports totaled 25.45 trillion yuan ($3.5 trillion), up 7.1 percent year on year.

In 2024, multiple sectors were promoting the integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation. Kang added that the Global Innovation Index 2024, released by the World Intellectual Property Organization, had ranked China 11th among the world's most innovative economies, up one spot from the previous year.

The development of the country's new-energy industries also achieved outstanding results in 2024. The greening of the energy industry is accelerating, and the proportion of clean energy generation is increasing. In 2024, hydropower, nuclear power, wind power and solar power accounted for 32.6 percent of power generation.

As of late December, the number of new-energy vehicles (NEVs) in use in China had reached 31.4 million, a 260-fold increase over the past decade, the Ministry of Public Security said on January 17, attributing the growth to improved charging infrastructure and more eco-friendly consumption options. NEVs refer to vehicles completely or mainly driven by new-energy sources, including battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles and fuel-cell vehicles.

Consumption continued to be a key driver. In late August last year, the government introduced a trade-in policy to encourage people to replace outdated household appliances and vehicles with newer, smarter and greener ones. This policy has had a strong, positive effect on the sales of new vehicles and home appliances. In 2024, China's total auto sales reached 31.44 million, setting a new record, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. The trade-in policy gave a firm boost to auto sales.

Looking ahead, the government plans a stronger macroeconomic policy push for 2025, and has pledged to adopt a more proactive fiscal policy and a moderately loose monetary policy this year.

Contributing around 30 percent of global economic growth annually in recent years, China has been a major engine driving the world economy. The Chinese market continues to provide new opportunities for the world and the country has maintained its position as the world's second largest importer for several years, with total import value reaching 18.39 trillion yuan ($2.5 trillion) in 2024.

However, it remains a developing country, with a big gap in per-capita GDP compared to developed nations, Kang said.

He cautioned that challenges, including weak consumer spending, difficulties facing businesses and employment pressure, remained. Geopolitical conflicts and rising protectionism have also added to the existing uncertainty.

In 2024, the national Producer Price Index (PPI) declined 2.2 percent year on year, less than the 3-percent drop in 2023. Xu said that the negative growth of PPI, a gauge of industrial product demand, was caused by weak demand in global and domestic markets, making it a key problem to address this year.

In 2024, fixed assets investment expanded 3.2 percent on a yearly basis. "But private investment saw negative year-on-year growth of 0.1 percent, suggesting that private enterprises lacked confidence," Xu said.

At a symposium on private enterprises attended by prominent entrepreneurs including Huawei's Ren Zhengfei and BYD's Wang Chuanfu in Beijing on February 17, President Xi Jinping called for firming up confidence to promote the healthy and high-quality development of the private sector.

According to Xu, the authorities should channel more funds into hi-tech and green sectors, and improve the expectations of private and foreign-funded enterprises to expand investment.

Xu suggested further improving people's incomes by boosting employment and the social security system cushioning the life of low-income groups.

"The government should also shore up rural consumption through enhancing logistics in remote areas and develop new growth drivers from emerging sectors such as the silver economy, which focuses on China's elderly population," he said.

SOURCE BEIJING REVIEW