China’s Politburo promises ‘proactive’ moves to bolster domestic demand in 2025

China will adopt more proactive measures to expand domestic demand in 2025, the Communist Party’s Politburo, a major decision-making body, said on Monday.

The integrated development of technology and industry will be supported and the property and stock markets will be stabilised, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Strong supportive language from the meeting indicates a determination to buoy China’s economic growth, as many had expected the world’s second-largest economy to set its 2025 target for gross domestic product growth at around 5 percent - the same benchmark as this year.

Per the meeting’s summary statement, China will implement a “more” proactive fiscal policy and a “moderately loose” monetary policy - a shift in rhetoric from “prudent”, previously a frequent descriptor of the outlook for central bank policy.

The body also encouraged the enhancement of “unconventional” counter-cyclical adjustments, an “all-around” expansion of domestic demand, foreign trade and investment.

Historically, the December Politburo meeting has been closely followed by the annual tone-setting central economic work conference, when the country’s economic officials will lay out a broad blueprint for the year ahead.