China Economy

China's growth ambitions face limits as its national congress meets

China's progress in building a modern economy, evident in its kung-fu fighting robots and self-parking cars, is hitting limits as a downturn in its housing industry drags on, small businesses suffer and young people struggle to find jobs. The gap between Chinese leader Xi Jinping's high-tech, artificial intelligence-driven ambitions and the hard realities of slowing growth is the backdrop for the annual meeting of the country's largely ceremonial national legislature, the National People's Congress, which begins Thursday. During the meetings, which draw about 3,000 deputies to Beijing, top leaders will outline China's annual target for growth and the congress will endorse a five-year blueprint of policy priorities until 2030. "What we'll see is the trade-off between whether it's going to be industry and tech, or looking after domestic demand," said Alexander Davey, an analyst at the Mercator Institute for China Studies. "These are the two priorities that are juggling for Xi Jinping

As China's economy slows, young people buy cheap homes to retire early

The "Life in Venice" housing development, a multibillion-dollar replica of the Italian city on the Chinese coast, stands silent. Many of the tens of thousands of homes are hollow husks of concrete and alabaster. But in recent years the remote, partially abandoned complex has drawn unlikely new residents like Sasa Chen, a burned-out young Chinese woman who until recently worked a high-earning finance job in Shanghai, China's bustling commerce hub. The appeal? Chen pays just 1200 RMB, or USD 168, a month for her apartment in faux Venice in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu. It's so cheap that it's allowed Chen to retire at the tender age of 28. Experts say Chen is part of a broader trend that has seen a growing number of young people across China migrating to small towns and cities, taking advantage of cheap real estate prices that have been plummeting since the COVID pandemic. It's a stark reversal from previous generations that prised upward mobility. In decades past, China'

China's key policy meeting puts tech, stimulus in focus for investors

At the weeklong gathering of the National People's Congress starting March 5, officials are expected to set a 2026 growth target of 4.5% to 5%, down from around 5% in recent years

Easy money in China drives metals rally as real economy struggles

While overseas experience has proven invaluable in other economies, it appeared to play a diminished role in India's contemporary tech ecosystem

China's manufacturing activity gauge expands for export-oriented firms

China has seen weakening momentum in the economy in recent months, with few signs policymakers intend to unleash major stimulus as they continue to battle risks tied to local government debt

China factory activity contracts in Jan, manufacturing PMI drops to 49.3

Sub-indexes of new orders and new export orders also saw declines, respectively down to 49.2 from 50.8 in December and 47.8 from 49.0 in December

China's birth rate hits record low: Why Chinese youth aren't having kids

Births in China fell to a record low in 2025 despite subsidies and policy shifts, as young Chinese delay marriage and parenthood amid high costs, job uncertainty and long working hours

China's economic momentum weakens despite meeting 5% growth goal

The world's second-largest economy expanded 4.5 per cent last quarter from a year earlier, the slowest pace since the reopening from Covid lockdowns in late 2022

China's $7 trillion cash pile begins shifting into higher-yield assets

Investors are weighing a move into stocks, wealth management products or insurance, which would align with Beijing's efforts to cultivate sustainable market gains to support the broader economy

China's fresh tech surge powers stock rally despite fragile economic growth

Thanks to fresh progress in sectors from commercial rockets to robotics and flying cars, Chinese tech shares have begun the new year with a bang

US firms worry more about China's economy than trade tensions: Survey

US businesses are more concerned about China's slowing economy than trade friction, according to a survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in China released Friday. Of 368 companies responding to the survey, 64% viewed slowing growth in the world's second largest economy as their top worry, while 58% cited US-China trade tensions as a key challenge. One reason for that may be that many US companies have businesses focused on China's huge market of about 1.4 billion people that do not rely on exports back to the US Economists expect China's economy to slow further this year after expanding at about a 5% annual pace in 2025. Growth in exports outpaced imports last year, leading to a record trade surplus of nearly $1.2 trillion. The report said business sentiment has improved from last year. More than half of those responding estimated that they made a profit in 2025, up from less than half last year. It has been a rocky ride for American businesses in recent years, especially aft

China's record trade surplus ensures global turmoil will continue

China's record trade surplus is less a sign of strength than of a stalled growth model-one that deepens global imbalances and fuels the next wave of trade conflict

China's 2025 trade surplus hits record $1.2 trillion despite Trump tariffs

Despite a global backlash, Chinese companies aggressively sought out customers in other markets when shipments to the US plunged after President Donald Trump hiked tariffs

How China's biotech research boom is sending lab monkey prices higher

With a record wave of deal-making, IPO activity and fresh venture capital flowing into Chinese biotech in 2024-25, prices of lab monkeys used for drug testing are rising again

Why US and China are contesting for influence in Latin America now

Beijing has signalled it intends to deepen engagement with Latin America, issuing its first official policy paper on the region in nearly a decade as Washington moves to reassert influence

The Chinese conundrum: Consumption glut versus export-driven growth

China's private consumption expenditure has been stagnating in the range of 34-40 per cent for the last two decades

Why are China's restaurants struggling to recover from the slowdown?

Weak spending behaviour has become more common in China as households worry about income stability and falling asset values

China's Xi hails nation's tech progress, renews pledge to take back Taiwan

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday hailed his country's technological progress in areas such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors while once again insisting his country would annex self-ruled Taiwan. During his New Year's Eve address broadcast Wednesday evening by state media, Xi praised the country's advancements in key sectors including military tech and space exploration. Images ranging from humanoid robots performing kung fu to new hydropower projects rolled on the screen as he spoke. We sought to energize high-quality development through innovation, Xi said while thanking Chinese people for contributing to the country's economic growth over the past five years. China plans its economic development over periods of five years and is preparing to discuss its new five-year plan at the upcoming legislative session in March. The country is set to speed up self-reliance in science and technology as the United States imposes increasingly tight controls on access to ...

Xi vows more proactive macro policies for China's economy in 2026

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

China's factory activity rises in December, ending record 8-month slump

The official manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 50.1 from 49.2 last month, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics