Chinese leader Xi Jinping struck a bullish tone during a speech on Monday (Jan 27) ahead of the Chinese New Year, after acknowledging “complex and severe situations” in recent months.
Xi addressed the gathering of top Communist Party officials as China gears up for its biggest public holiday, which this year runs from Jan 28 to Feb 4 and will see people bid farewell to the Year of the Dragon and ring in the Year of the Snake.
He leads a country still struggling to cement its economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and beset by a property sector crisis, chronically low consumption and high youth unemployment.
China’s economy grew 5 per cent in 2024, its slowest rate since 1990, excluding the financially tumultuous years of the pandemic.
To reignite the stuttering economy, Beijing in recent months has announced aggressive support measures, including cutting key interest rates, easing local government debt and expanding subsidy programmes for household goods.
“Over the past year, in the face of complex and severe situations, we have responded to events with composure, implemented measures comprehensively, overcome difficulties and pushed each other to forge ahead,” Xi said.
He said Beijing had “stepped up efforts to push a basket of incremental policies to promote economic recovery”.
“We have again proven that with hard work and struggle, no difficulties or obstacles can stop the Chinese people from pursuing a better life, or … the historical process of national rejuvenation,” he said.
