At the "China Entrepreneurs Influence Annual Meeting 2025" held on December 7 in Beijing, themed "Charting China's Economic Breakthrough Path," former National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) chief and current advisor to Sunshine Insurance Group Qiu Xiaohua delivered a keynote speech.

Qiu noted that 2025, as the concluding year of the 14th Five-Year Plan, has seen China's economy achieve overall stable performance. The annual growth target of around 5% is expected to be met as projected.

He highlighted three key factors supporting this economic achievement: 1. Proactive and effective macroeconomic policies, including expansionary fiscal measures, moderately accommodative monetary policies, and consumption-investment stimulus, which provided strong support during economic challenges. 2. Better-than-expected export performance. 3. Enhanced resilience in domestic markets.

However, Qiu identified two major challenges: 1. Persistently low price levels, with both producer and consumer prices yet to recover to normal ranges, constraining investment, consumption, and corporate profitability. 2. Insufficient domestic demand, particularly marked by the first year-on-year decline in investment demand since China's reform and opening-up over 40 years ago. From January to November, investment fell approximately 2%, primarily dragged by double-digit declines in real estate investment (accounting for one-third of total investment). Excluding real estate, investment maintained positive growth.

Qiu emphasized that mitigating the impact of shrinking real estate investment will be a critical focus for policymakers moving forward.