China signaled more public borrowing and spending in 2025 with a shift of policy focus to consumption, in an effort to repair the economy’s weak link as looming U.S. tariffs threaten exports.
Top officials led by President Xi Jinping vowed to raise the fiscal deficit target next year in an announcement made following a two-day huddle of the Central Economic Work Conference in Beijing, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency. For only the second time in at least a decade, they made "lifting consumption vigorously” and stimulating overall domestic demand their top priority.
Chinese officials also vowed to strengthen the social safety net with broad promises to bolster health care and pensions. Those initiatives have long been advocated by economists as the population ages and households squirrel away savings to cover fees in case of a medical emergency.
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