China has vowed to meet its 5% economic growth target for 2025, using a mix of stronger macroeconomic policies and global outreach, even as trade tensions with the United States deepen into a full-scale standoff.
Finance Minister Lan Fo’an made the bold pledge during meetings in Washington this week, stressing that China would roll out “more proactive and effective macro policies” to stabilize its economy and contribute to global growth. His remarks, posted on the Ministry of Finance’s website Saturday, come at a time when rising protectionism, bolstered by President Donald Trump’s tariff campaign, threatens to pull the two biggest economies further apart.
Lan’s statements were not simply about reassuring global markets — they were part of a broader message of defiance. China’s push to hit 5% growth has become a symbolic response to the escalating tariff battle initiated by President Trump. It is a signal that Beijing will not back down under pressure, and is instead doubling down on stimulus and international diplomacy to outlast Washington’s economic onslaught.
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The world is now watching to see who blinks first.
A Standoff with No End in Sight
The confrontation between Washington and Beijing has escalated over the past months, with Trump imposing successive waves of tariffs on Chinese goods, citing unfair trade practices and national security concerns. China, in turn, has responded with retaliatory tariffs, while also accelerating efforts to open up other parts of its economy to non-U.S. partners.
Lan, along with People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng, used the high-profile IMF and World Bank meetings to accuse the United States of “wantonly imposing tariffs” and undermining global trade stability. In a separate statement, Pan criticized Washington for infringing upon the “legitimate rights and interests” of other countries, pointing to a world economy weakened by such confrontations.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, speaking at a China-Central Asia gathering in Kazakhstan, also lambasted the U.S. approach as “extreme egoism,” accusing Washington of bullying smaller nations into accepting unfair terms. He reaffirmed that China would stand firm against what he described as protectionist moves, further underlining Beijing’s refusal to yield to American pressure.
Despite this public posturing, confusion clouds the true state of negotiations. Trump, in a recent interview, claimed that fresh talks were underway with Beijing. Chinese officials quickly dismissed that claim, denying any current negotiations. The public contradictions suggest that both sides are locked in a high-stakes game of brinkmanship, unwilling even to agree on whether they are talking.
Economists Doubt 5% Target, but China Digs In
China’s economy grew 5.4% in the last quarter year-on-year, driven largely by consumer stimulus and an export rush as companies scrambled to ship goods before new U.S. tariffs hit. Still, major global banks like UBS, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Société Générale have lowered their forecasts for China’s 2025 growth to around 4% or even lower, citing persistent structural weaknesses and the drag from trade hostilities.
Even so, Lan and other top Chinese officials maintain that the 5% target is non-negotiable. Beijing believes that sustaining strong growth is essential not just for domestic stability but for demonstrating resilience in the face of American economic warfare.
Pledging new stimulus measures, Lan said China would strengthen support for key sectors such as manufacturing, infrastructure, and private enterprise investment — areas most vulnerable to external shocks. The government also plans to widen access to its vast domestic market, particularly for countries willing to bypass U.S.-dominated trade routes.
China Recasts Itself as Defender of Global Trade
Lan used his platform in Washington to link China’s domestic growth ambitions with a global mission to defend multilateralism and free trade. He praised reforms at the World Bank aimed at strengthening support for the private sector and fighting poverty and quoted President Xi Jinping’s calls for building “bridges, not walls” in international trade.
China’s narrative seeks to cast itself as a reliable partner in global economic relations, contrasting its message of openness with what it portrays as Washington’s increasing isolationism. Lan emphasized that China remains committed to offering zero-tariff treatment to goods from the world’s least developed countries that maintain diplomatic ties with Beijing while inviting others to tap into its domestic market.
At the same time, he warned that the rising tide of protectionism, driven by new U.S. tariffs, threatens to reverse decades of global poverty reduction and economic development. Organizations like the World Bank, he argued, must resist pressure to abandon principles of free and non-discriminatory trade.
Debt Talks, Development, and China’s Growing Influence
Beyond tariffs, China is quietly expanding its influence in other key areas. At the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable, Lan joined other finance leaders to discuss solutions for debt-laden developing economies. Beijing, often criticized for the terms of its lending under its Belt and Road Initiative, is now seeking to play a more visible role in reshaping debt frameworks — though still largely on its own terms.
Lan argued that helping countries avoid financial collapse was critical to stabilizing global markets, but he also made clear that China would not support solutions that simply transfer more burden onto lenders like itself.
Beijing’s insistence on hitting 5% growth, even in the face of mounting challenges, highlights how much the current trade conflict with the U.S. has evolved into a broader geopolitical contest over resilience, credibility, and leadership.
Both sides appear determined to outlast the other. China, by mobilizing every lever of state power to support growth and foster global alliances; Washington, by tightening tariffs and betting that China’s internal contradictions will eventually force it to make concessions.
Neither side is blinking yet — but the longer the standoff drags on, the more risk it poses to global economic stability.