China’s top leadership has called for a more proactive and better coordinated macroeconomic approach for 2026, reports Caixin. The Central Economic Work Conference, which concluded on Thursday, will place domestic demand at the center of economic policy while downplaying aggressive stimulus for property and local government debt.
Officials said the economy remains on track to meet 2025 growth targets, supported by a reported 5.2% expansion in the first three quarters and upgraded IMF forecasts of 5% and 4.5% growth for 2025 and 2026, respectively.
While concerns about weak demand and external uncertainties persist, this year’s conference saw a change in tone, Caixin said. The official readout framed China’s core economic challenge as a “prominent contradiction between strong supply and weak demand”—a structural issue rather than just insufficient consumption.
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