Party leadership urges solid measures to protect growth and employment amid US headwinds

China’s policymakers have emphasized the need to coordinate domestic economic work with international economic and trade struggles, with efforts focused on stabilizing employment, enterprises, markets, and expectations while expanding high-standard opening-up, according to a key Party leadership meeting.

At the April 25 meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, which was presided over by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, the country’s top leadership analyzed and studied the current economic situation and related work, and they called for solid efforts to counter uncertainties from the fast-changing external environment with high-quality development.

The meeting came as China’s economy faces mounting challenges amid tariff and trade wars launched by the United States.

It was noted at the meeting that the country has seen a positive trajectory for its economy this year, with public confidence continuously boosted and solid progress made in high-quality development.

However, the foundation for the country’s sustained economic recovery needs to be further consolidated, and the country faces a growing impact from external shocks.

It is essential to prepare for worst-case scenarios with detailed planning and take concrete steps to improve economic work, the meeting’s participants said.

The policymakers are committed to aiding companies and employees impacted by hefty US tariffs, with efforts to be made to strengthen financing support and accelerate the integration of domestic and foreign trade, according to a statement released after the meeting.

Specific measures also include increasing the allocation of unemployment insurance refunded to companies adversely impacted by tariffs to stabilize employment, cultivating new pillar industries, introducing a “sci-tech board” in the bond market, and speeding up the implementation of the AI Plus initiative.

The meeting emphasized the need to implement more proactive macroeconomic policies and effectively leverage more proactive fiscal policies and moderately accommodative monetary policies.

It is necessary to quicken the issuance and utilization of local government special-purpose bonds and ultra-long special treasury bonds, cut interest rates and banks’ reserve requirements as needed to ensure ample liquidity and provide strong support to the real economy, they said.

The meeting’s participants highlighted the importance of boosting services consumption and enhancing the role of consumption in driving economic growth.

Efforts should be made to step up the building of the unified national market, intensify pilot policies for opening-up in the services sector, and enhance support for enterprises going global, they said.

Participants underlined the need to work with the international community to uphold multilateralism and oppose unilateral bullying.

In preventing and resolving risks in key areas, they called for continuing the implementation of the package of local government debt policies, accelerating the establishment of a new development model for the real estate sector, and stabilizing and invigorating the capital market.

Experts noted that the meeting came at a critical time as US tariff policies are expected to weigh on China’s exports and the broader economy starting from the second quarter, indicating that policymakers are taking a forward-looking, effective, and targeted macro policy approach to stabilize overall growth.

Zhang Jun, chief economist at China Galaxy Securities, said concrete steps are expected to follow to stabilize growth and employment, and to expand domestic demand.

Yang Chang, an analyst at Zhongtai Securities, said policymakers are taking a measured approach, guided by worst-case scenario thinking, to prepare for potential downside risks.

Zhou Lanxu and Ouyang Shijia contributed to this story.

caodesheng@chinadaily.com.cn