Five percent GDP growth target aligns with China's actual conditions

In its latest government work report, China has set an economic growth target of around 5 percent for 2025 - a figure officials describe as a pragmatic balance between domestic realities and global uncertainties.

Shen Danyang, head of the group responsible for drafting this year's government work report and director of the Research Office of China's State Council, noted that the target was calibrated to China's actual conditions and the laws governing economic development after thorough research and deliberation.

A digital plant factory operates within a modern agricultural park in Hohhot, north China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region. (People's Daily Online/Ding Genhou)

From an objective perspective, a 5 percent growth rate is essential not only for stabilizing employment and mitigating risks but also for improving livelihoods and enhancing China's international competitiveness.

"Without a certain growth rate, efforts to expand employment, curb risks, and raise incomes would lack a material foundation," said Huang Qunhui, a national political advisor from the Institute of Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, adding that the target dovetails with China's recent economic trends and its longer-term goal of basically realizing socialist modernization by 2035.

Wei Qijia, director of the industrial economy research office at the State Information Center's Department of Economic Forecasting, which is part of China's National Development and Reform Commission, stated that the target signals China's determination to overcome current challenges and sustain progress. It reassures the markets and underscores the country's commitment to steady development, Wei said.

Shen added that meeting the country's development goals hinges on three key pillars - sustained growth momentum, robust capacity, and targeted policy support. He expressed confidence that, with these elements in place, China will achieve its growth target for this year.

Children learn about the functions and structure of a space suit at a science museum in Zhangye, northwest China's Gansu province, Jan. 17, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Zhang Yuan)

China's economic scale remains formidable. In 2024, the country's GDP surpassed 130 trillion yuan ($17.97 trillion). The country has long been a vital engine of global growth, contributing about 30 percent to worldwide economic expansion.

"China's supersized market, complete industrial system, and abundant human resources equip it to navigate complex challenges. The fundamentals sustaining China's long-term growth remain unchanged," Huang observed.

Technological innovation also continues to bolster China's economic ambitions. Recent milestones range from the Chang'e-6 lunar probe's historic sampling on the moon's far side to the global debut of AI model DeepSeek, not to mention the launch of China's independently developed third-generation superconducting quantum computer to the unveiling of the CR450 bullet train prototype.

In 2024, the value-added output of China's high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing sectors grew by 8.9 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively, while new energy vehicle production surpassed 13 million units. These advances, fueling the development of new quality productive forces and industrial upgrades, are expected to create "multiplier effects" that will further invigorate the economy.

Aluminum chassis for new energy vehicles are manufactured inside a production workshop in Huaibei, east China's Anhui province. (People's Daily Online/Li Xin)

On the policy front, the Chinese government is taking an assertive stance. For the first time, the government work report highlights "a more proactive fiscal policy," with expenditure in the general public budget projected at 29.7 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.2 trillion yuan over last year. These measures will stimulate consumption, improve livelihoods and help remove bottlenecks in economic circulation.

The report also charts a course for deeper reforms in key areas, aimed at removing institutional barriers impeding development and fostering a fairer and more dynamic market environment.

Efforts to develop a unified national market and further reform the fiscal, taxation and financial systems are seen as key to unleashing policy dividends, spurring innovation, and reinforcing domestic growth drivers.