China's Top Leaders Pledge Support for Economy, Oppose "Unilateral Bullying" in Global Trade

In a move aimed at addressing economic woes and countering hefty tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, China's top leaders have pledged to step up support for the economy and oppose "unilateral bullying" in global trade. The commitment was made during a Politburo meeting of the Chinese Communist Party's top decision-making body, attended by President Xi Jinping, where leaders acknowledged that external shocks are increasing and emphasized the need to work with the international community to uphold multilateralism. The gathering also saw leaders discuss domestic economic issues, including the enhancement of consumption's role in stimulating economic growth and the implementation of key rate cuts.

Key Takeaways:

• China's top leaders have pledged to support the economy and oppose "unilateral bullying" in global trade, a veiled rebuke of hefty tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.
• The commitment was made during a Politburo meeting of the Chinese Communist Party's top decision-making body, attended by President Xi Jinping.
• Leaders acknowledged that "the impact of external shocks is increasing", highlighting the need to work with the international community to uphold multilateralism.
• The gathering also saw leaders discuss domestic economic issues, including enhancement of consumption's role in stimulating economic growth and implementation of key rate cuts.
• Economists say China's economy will need to depend more on domestic consumption to sustain growth throughout coming years.
• Beijing is targeting annual growth this year of five percent, although experts consider this goal to be ambitious.
• Last year saw China achieve record exports, providing a key source of economic activity as domestic challenges in the property sector and deflationary pressure persisted.
• China has responded to the US tariffs with new 125% tariffs on US goods, while the US has imposed 145% tariffs on Chinese products.
• Recent days have seen competing claims about potential trade talks that could see an easing of the sky-high tariffs that have unleashed chaos on the global economy.

Statistics:

• China's economic growth target for this year is five percent, which experts consider ambitious.
• Last year, China achieved record exports, which provided a key source of economic activity.
• China has imposed 125% tariffs on US goods in response to US tariffs, while the US has imposed 145% tariffs on Chinese products.
• The global economy is being significantly impacted by the high-stakes trade war between China and the US.

Sources:

• AFP: "China's top leaders pledge support for economy, oppose 'unilateral bullying' in global trade"
• Xinhua: "Chinese leaders emphasize the importance of upholding multilateralism, opposing unilateral bullying"
• Zhiwei Zhang, president & chief economist of Pinpoint Asset Management: "The government is ready to launch new policies when the economy is affected by the external shock"
• Caijing: "Beijing considering exemption of certain US semiconductor products from recent additional tariffs"