Containers are loaded onto a vessel in Qingdao Port, Shandong province. [YU FANGPING/FOR CHINA DAILY]  

China is expected to maintain its annual economic growth target at  around 5 percent for 2025, the same as last year's goal, in a bid to  shore up market expectations in the face of tepid domestic demand and  rising trade protectionism, analysts and executives said.

The world's second-largest economy has vowed to enhance  countercyclical adjustments, including a more proactive fiscal policy  and a moderately loose monetary policy, and provide a strong  underpinning for achieving its annual goals, they added.

Though China's GDP target will only be officially disclosed during  the National People's Congress session in March, the anticipation for  the unchanged growth target comes as China's major economic hubs — like  Beijing and Shanghai as well as the provinces of Guangdong and Zhejiang —  have announced GDP growth goals in the vicinity of 5 percent for the  year.

Aside from Qinghai's relatively lower target of around 4.5 percent,  most other provincial-level regions have also set their growth goals at  around 5 percent or slightly above 5 percent.

Notably, the Xizang autonomous region has set the most ambitious  growth objective, targeting over 7 percent with an aim to reach 8  percent. Chongqing, along with the provinces of Hainan and Hubei as well  as the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and the Inner Mongolia  autonomous region, have set their growth goals at around 6 percent for  this year.

"The country is expected to aim for a GDP expansion of around 5  percent, as China is committed to achieving the goal of doubling per  capita GDP by 2035, which requires an implied growth rate of no less  than 4.6 percent," said Zhang Ming, deputy director of the Institute of  Finance and Banking, which is part of the Chinese Academy of Social  Sciences.

The growth target will also help boost confidence and expectations in  the current context of relatively subdued sentiment and provides a  framework for policymakers to coordinate resources, Zhang said.

Moreover, based on data from 2020 to 2024, every 1 percentage point  increase in GDP has the potential to create around 2.61 million new  urban jobs. A growth rate of around 5 percent could generate over 13  million new jobs, which would significantly alleviate employment  pressure, said China Minsheng Bank.

Through ramping up the intensity of countercyclical adjustments,  China can harness its underlying growth potential to meet its 5 percent  GDP growth target for 2025, even in the face of potential economic  headwinds, said Wen Bin, chief economist at China Minsheng Bank.

"With external demand likely to face trade barriers tipped by certain  economies, China will need to direct its efforts toward unlocking the  potential of domestic consumption as the main engine of economic  growth," Wen said.

China's consumer goods trade-in programs, which have driven a more  than 1 percentage point increase in the annual growth of the country's  total retail sales last year, are set to cover a broader range of  consumer goods and offer even more attractive incentives in 2025.

"China is likely to double the funding for its consumer goods  trade-in initiatives this year to 300 billion yuan ($41 billion)," said  Wang Qing, chief macroeconomic analyst at Golden Credit Rating  International.

This significant increase in funding is expected to drive a  substantial boost in consumption, with Wang forecasting an additional  750 billion yuan in spending in 2025, equivalent to a 1.5 percentage  point acceleration in the growth rate of the total retail sales of  consumer goods.

China's economic growth is poised to outshine the global average this  year, underpinned by the dynamism of its innovation-driven private  sector and the rapid expansion of future-oriented industries, said  Ernesto Torres Cantu, head of international at Citi.

This dynamism in the private sphere is a key factor behind China's  robust economic performance and the positive sentiment surrounding  Chinese companies, he said.

Meanwhile, such future-oriented industries as artificial  intelligence, electric vehicles, green energy and humanoid robots will  keep driving the country's growth forward for years to come, with their  impact also being felt worldwide, he added.

(Source: Chinadaily)