Big Take Asia Podcast

Xi’s Big Challenge Is Getting People to Spend, Spend, Spend

On today’s Big Take Asia podcast: How is China planning to achieve its 5% GDP growth target in 2025? And will Trump’s tariffs get in the way?

A resident watches the live broadcast of the opening of National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing, China, on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. China set a forceful economic growth goal at about 5% for 2025, raising expectations for officials to unleash more stimulus later this year as they confront a trade war with Donald Trump.Photographer: Na Bian/Bloomberg

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By K Oanh Ha, Yang Yang, Naomi Ng, Jessica Beck, and Patrick Hirsch

March 7, 2025 at 1:45 AM EST

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A crippling property crisis, mounting debt, weak consumer spending… and now a trade war. Despite the headwinds, China has set an ambitious economic growth goal of about 5% this year.