China has expressed confidence in achieving its economic growth target of "around 5%" this year, despite the ongoing tariff war with the United States. The country also announced plans to introduce additional economic stimulus measures in response to the deepening US-China trade war.
According to state-run China Central Television (CCTV) and Xinhua News Agency, the State Council Information Office held a press conference on April 28 under the theme "Policies to Promote Employment, Economic Stability, and High-Quality Development."
The press conference was attended by representatives from China's top economic planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission, as well as the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Commerce, and the People's Bank of China.
Zhao Chenxin, Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, stated, "China's economy delivered an excellent performance in the first quarter, with domestic demand making a significant contribution to economic growth. China has abundant policy tools and sufficient policy space, so we are fully confident in achieving this year's economic and social development goals."
China has set its economic growth target for this year at "around 5%," the same as last year. Vice Chairman Zhao expressed confidence in achieving this goal. China's growth rate for the first quarter of this year was 5.4%. However, financial institutions such as UBS Group and Goldman Sachs have recently lowered their forecasts for China's 2025 growth rate to below 4%.
Regarding imports from the United States, Vice Chairman Zhao stated, "Even if imports of grain and energy resources from the United States decrease or are suspended, there will be little impact within China. Our country has gradually reduced imports of US corn and soybeans, and there are sufficient alternative markets."
He also announced that, in response to the possibility of large-scale layoffs at Chinese export companies if the United States maintains its high tariffs of up to 145% on Chinese goods, China would implement measures to stabilize employment.
Yu Jiadong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said, "We plan to strengthen support for companies to maintain employment and expand policies encouraging entrepreneurship among the unemployed." He added that, in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, the central government has recently provided 66.7 billion yuan (about 13 trillion won) in employment support funds.
Chinese authorities have introduced support measures for export companies, including expanding loans, diversifying overseas markets, and reducing domestic distribution costs.
Sheng Qiuping, Vice Minister of Commerce, said, "Chinese exports have remained stable in April," and pledged to support foreign trade companies in actively responding to external risks and challenges.
The People's Bank of China reaffirmed its stance on maintaining an "appropriately accommodative monetary policy" and announced plans to increase support for the real economy. Zou Lan, Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China, stated, "If necessary, we will encourage lending through interest rate cuts and reductions in the reserve requirement ratio (RRR). We will also introduce additional policies in a timely manner to stabilize employment, businesses, and market expectations." He added, "We will prevent overshooting of the yuan exchange rate and maintain the yuan at a reasonable and balanced level."
On the same day, local Chinese media reported that authorities are highly likely to lower the reserve requirement ratio and interest rates by 0.5 percentage points and 0.1 to 0.3 percentage points, respectively, during the second quarter.
After the press conference, the CCTV-affiliated social media account "Weiyuantantian" stated that, although it did not specify concrete policies, both previously announced and newly introduced measures are planned to be implemented by the end of June.
Bloomberg News interpreted the measures announced by the authorities as an approach to stabilize the economy amid the ongoing trade war with the United States, signaling that there is no need to rapidly expand stimulus measures or actively engage in negotiations with the United States.
Raymond Yeung, Chief Economist for Greater China at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, commented, "Depending on the next moves by the United States, China will flexibly adjust the timing, scale, and approach of its stimulus measures." He also noted, "China has previously provided tailored support to export companies during the pandemic and the global financial crisis."
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