China’s economy grew 5% in 2025, among its slowest rates in decades, driven by exports but hampered by weak domestic demand and a property crisis
BEIJING: China’s economy grew at one of the slowest rates in decades last year, according to official data released on Monday.
The 5% expansion was in line with Beijing’s annual target but was largely driven by exports, masking weak domestic sentiment.
Data showed a significant slowdown to 4.5% growth in the last quarter of the year. National Bureau of Statistics official Kang Yi said the impact of changes in the external environment had deepened.
“The domestic contradiction of strong supply and weak demand is prominent,” he told a news briefing.
Chinese consumers remain jittery about the wider economy and high unemployment despite policy efforts to boost spending.
“Everyone is thinking harder about their spending under these poor economic conditions,” Shanghai visitor Yang Qing told AFP.
Growth in retail sales, a key consumption indicator, slowed to 3.7% last year from 4% in 2024. The December reading of 0.9% year-on-year was the weakest pace since the end of 2022.
Zichun Huang of Capital Economics wrote that the overall figures likely “overstate the strength of the economy”. She added that growth in 2026 is expected to be at least slightly softer than in 2025.
Industrial output expanded 5.9% in 2025, a slight slowdown from the previous year. The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index ticked up to 50.1 in December, just above the contraction mark.
China’s property sector remains mired in a debt crisis despite government support measures. Fixed-asset investments shrunk 3.8% in 2025, while real estate investment was down 17.2%.
The revival of a fierce trade war with the United States added to Beijing’s economic challenges. Chinese exports to the US plunged 20% in 2025.
Despite this, robust exports to other regions remained a bright spot. China’s trade surplus hit a record USD 1.2 trillion last year.
Shipments to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations rose 13.4% year-on-year, while exports to African countries surged 25.8%. Exports to the European Union were also up 8.4%.
Shanghai local Wang Dongdong, who works in international trade, said his business had done well enough last year. “I think 2026 will be better than 2025, based on international trends,” he told AFP.
