China aims for ambitious ‘around 5%’ growth despite Trump’s escalating trade war

China has set an ambitious target for “around 5%” growth in 2025, maintaining last year’s goal even as it braces for the fallout from escalating American tariffs on its export-driven economy.

China has set an ambitious target of “around 5%” growth for 2025, maintaining last year’s goal even as it braces for the fallout from escalating American tariffs on its export-driven economy. The target “underscores our resolve to meet difficulties head-on and strive hard to deliver,” Premier Li Qiang, China’s number-two official, said on Wednesday as he delivered the government work report at the opening session of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s rubber-stamp legislature. Li is giving his state-of-the-union-like speech shortly before US President Donald Trump’s first address to Congress, a split-screen moment between the two great power rivals, with both leaders laying out what they see as the best way forward to make their countries great again. Beijing’s ambitious growth target reflects an effort to project confidence in its ability to stay the course, despite mounting trade pressure from the world’s largest economy and its mercurial president. As thousands of Chinese delegates convened in Beijing this week, Trump escalated his trade war, doubling tariffs on all Chinese imports to 20%. This came just days after his administration threatened to tighten controls to keep American technology from funding China’s own tech ambitions. Beijing swiftly hit back with retaliatory measures by imposing tariffs of up to 15% on selected American goods, expanding export controls to a dozen US firms and filing a complaint at the World Trade Organization. It also suspended imports of US logs and soybeans from three American companies.