Xi touts China’s super-large market as key to boost local demand
His blueprint makes it clear that China is bracing for more uncertainty abroad, after amassing a record trade surplus despite the tariff war with the US
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[BEIJING] Chinese President Xi Jinping called for anchoring economic growth around domestic demand as its “main driver” in a speech delivered at a key policy meeting late last year and released on Sunday (Feb 15).
China should “coordinate efforts to boost consumption and expand investment, and fully leverage the advantages of China’s super-large-scale market”, he said in remarks published on the website of Qiushi, the Communist Party’s flagship journal. “We must focus on improving people’s livelihoods and boosting future growth, stabilising investment.”
The blueprint laid out by Xi made clear China is bracing for more uncertainty abroad, after amassing a record trade surplus despite the tariff war with the US. The address was made in December at the Central Economic Work Conference, which sets economic policy priorities for the coming year.
The language illustrates Beijing’s growing resolve to promote consumption among China’s 1.4 billion people, as countries around the world increasingly push back against its cheap goods that pose a threat to their local industries.
Top officials such as Vice-Premier He Lifeng have also raised the prospect of greater access to China’s domestic market to reduce imbalances in trade.
China’s economy expanded 5 per cent last year, with record exports compensating for cooling private consumption at home and an unprecedented drop in investment. That lopsided growth model will probably become harder to sustain in an era of rising protectionism across the world.
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With trade and geopolitical risks on the rise, China is looking to build up its consumer sector into a key engine of the economy while continuing to lean on emerging new industries for growth.
“We will remain committed to innovation‑driven development and accelerate the cultivation and strengthening of new growth drivers,” Xi said.
As part of an effort to support demand, Xi used his speech to champion plans to increase the incomes and basic pensions of rural and urban residents and boost the proportion of investment projects linked to people’s livelihoods.
Other priorities laid out in his speech include advancing high-quality development, continuing to open up the economy and promoting China’s green transition.
He also appealed to officials to curb cut-throat competition among companies – a campaign dubbed “anti-involution” – and stabilise the property market and employment of graduates and migrant workers.
China had previously signalled it will maintain economic support but refrain from ramping up stimulus this year, maintaining a “necessary” level of budget deficit and government spending in 2026. BLOOMBERG
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