Editorial | By putting technology first, China can carry on down growth path

Beijing’s goal of economic restructuring and industrial upgrading is working as it hits its 5% growth target

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People view the Beijing skyline. China’s goal of economic restructuring and industrial upgrading is working. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:21am, 18 Jan 2025

Resilience has become a hallmark of China’s economic strength in the face of challenges to recent growth targets. It has stood it in good stead once again in 2024, going by yearly economic figures from the National Bureau of Statistics.

This sets a positive tone for the final year of the 14th five-year plan and the framing of the 15th.

Achievement of the 5 per cent annual growth target, powered by a fourth-quarter rebound and stimulus, is remarkable. Moreover, it accords with Beijing’s strategic pathway.

Manufacturing industry is still the growth engine, especially in the hi-tech sector. A record foreign trade surplus has, of course, triggered concerns at home and abroad about overcapacity and over-reliance on exports.

Elderly people at a park in Fuyang in eastern China’s Anhui province. An ageing and declining population remains a concern for China, despite increases in both newborns and the birth rate in 2024 after seven years of decline. Photo: AFP

But it also reflects the flow of investment and resources into advanced manufacturing and hi-tech, away from the likes of property. In this respect the goal of economic restructuring and industrial upgrading is working.

So far, Beijing has achieved both qualitative and quantitative targets. The year ahead will be more challenging, with annual growth of 4.5 to 4.7 per cent expected amid even more critical external factors, such as intensified tariff and tech wars looming under US president-elect Donald Trump.