In an era marked by significant global instability, the Chinese economy has demonstrated remarkable resilience, providing a crucial source of stability and predictability for the world economy. Despite external challenges, China's economic fundamentals remain strong, supported by ongoing structural optimization and a shift in growth drivers.
In 2025, China's economy expanded by 5%, reaching a new high of 140 trillion yuan in total output. The country continued to serve as a primary engine for global growth, contributing approximately 30% to worldwide economic expansion. This performance underscores China's role as the most stable and reliable source of growth on the global stage.
Analysts note that despite a complex and severe external environment, China's economy has displayed impressive vitality. Growth in high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing significantly outpaced the average industrial growth rate in 2025. Technological innovation is driving improvements in total factor productivity, indicating positive changes in the economy's production function.
The year 2026 marks the beginning of China's 15th Five-Year Plan period. Since the start of the year, the government has introduced a series of macroeconomic and industrial support policies. These measures aim to channel financial resources effectively into the real economy, tap into domestic demand potential, accelerate the cultivation of new productive forces, and maintain economic operations within a reasonable range, thereby laying a solid foundation for high-quality long-term development.
China's stable growth offers developing nations reliable market access, sustained investment sources, and replicable development experience. This has made China an increasingly important partner for countries seeking to deepen economic and trade cooperation. A wave of visits by foreign leaders in early 2026, including those from Ireland, South Korea, Canada, Finland, and the United Kingdom, highlights this trend. Leaders have consistently pointed to the significant opportunities presented by China's market and its new development phase.
International financial institutions have responded positively. The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank have all revised their growth forecasts for China upwards. Firms including Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, and Nomura have highlighted strong performance in areas such as imports and exports, advanced manufacturing, the digital economy, and artificial intelligence. They anticipate that continued policy support will foster sustained and stable development. Standard Chartered Bank also raised its growth projection, noting that future momentum will increasingly come from tech-driven initiatives, productivity gains, and stronger policies to boost domestic demand.
Concurrently, China is steadfastly advancing high-level opening-up. Efforts include steadily expanding institutional openness, deepening reforms in market access for the services sector, and optimizing entry and exit policies. These steps contribute to a more inclusive form of economic globalization and provide global investors with a more stable, transparent, and predictable business environment. By actively integrating into the global economic cycle, China demonstrates a long-term vision of mutual benefit and common development with other nations. In a world grappling with uncertainty, China's steady progress and strategic focus provide much-needed confidence and momentum for the global economy.