Beijing/Hong Kong
—
China set its lowest economic growth target in decades on Thursday, announcing it would aim for 4.5-5% expansion for 2026, as the world’s second-largest economy grapples with weak domestic demand and an uncertain global outlook.
The moderate projection follows three consecutive years of aiming for “around 5%” growth from 2023 to 2025, which the country achieved despite a slow recovery from stringent Covid-19 controls and US President Donald Trump’s tariff offensive last year.
Still, China’s broader growth trajectory has flattened, weighed down by a prolonged property crisis, declined investment, tepid consumption and deflation.
The only year in recent history when the government has been less ambitious was in 2020, when it passed on setting a numerical target because the economy was nearly paralyzed by the initial outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The figure for 2026 was released in a government work report on Thursday at the opening of the annual assembly of the country’s rubber-stamp legislature, the National People’s Congress.
Over the week-long meeting ahead, nearly 2,900 delegates will approve China’s next “Five-Year Plan,” a policy blueprint aimed at guiding government priorities for the next few years to cement the country’s status as a global tech superpower.
The meeting comes weeks before Trump’s visit to Beijing, where Chinese leader Xi Jinping is set to host him for a three-day summit covering trade, technology and Taiwan, among other issues.
This is a developing story and will be updated.