China’s GDP expected to grow by over 6 trillion yuan in 2026 : official

2026-03-07 - 03:47

China’s GDP is expected to grow by over 6 trillion yuan (about 870 billion U.S. dollars) in 2026, head of the country’s top economic planner said Friday (March 06). This economic expansion will provide solid support for employment, people’s well-being and risk prevention, says Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission. He was speaking during a press conference on economic affairs yesterday (March 06), which was held on the sidelines of the fourth session of the 14th National People’s Congress. “It is expected that this year, if everything goes smoothly under normal circumstances, the GDP increment will exceed 6 trillion yuan. This will provide strong support for stabilizing employment, improving people’s livelihood, and preventing risks,” Zheng said. The size of China’s service sector is expected to expand beyond 100 trillion yuan (about 14.5 trillion U.S. dollars) in the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), Zheng said. “We will, in conjunction with the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and other departments, introduce a series of measures to expand capacity and improve quality, fully tapping into the high-quality development potential of the service industry. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the scale of the service industry is expected to exceed 100 trillion yuan,” he said. AI industry value to exceed 10 tln. yuan by 2030 The official further said that the country’s artificial intelligence (AI) related industries will be valued at more than 10 trillion yuan (1.45 trillion U.S. dollars) by 2030. “Furthermore, we will deepen the ‘AI Plus’ initiative to empower thousands of industries and serve millions of households. By the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the scale of AI-related industries will grow to over 10 trillion yuan,” he said. Cross border e-commerce imports and exports Wang Wentao – China’s Commerce Minister Addressing the press, China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao told that China’s cross-border e-commerce imports and exports surged to 2.75 trillion yuan (about 398.28 billion U.S. dollars) in 2025, up 15.5 percent from 2.38 trillion yuan a year earlier, highlighting the sector’s growing role in driving foreign trade. RMB appreciated by nearly 4.5% against USD in 2025 Pan Gongsheng – China’s Central Bank governor Meanwhile, addressing the press, Central Bank governor Pan Gongsheng said that China will maintain a dynamic balance between stabilising growth and preventing risks while orderly addressing vulnerabilities in key sectors. Pan noted that the country’s financial system remained generally sound over the past year, with major indicators significantly above regulatory standards. As of the end of 2025, commercial banks’ capital adequacy ratio stood at 15.5 percent and non-performing loan ratio at 1.5 percent, while insurers’ comprehensive solvency ratio reached 181 percent, all reflecting strong risk resilience, he said. “In the foreign exchange market, the Chinese yuan appreciated by nearly 4.5 percent against the U.S. dollar in 2025, broadly in line with the mid-range of major global currencies. In the bond market, yields fluctuated within a reasonable range, with the 10-year government bond yield stabilizing around 1.8 percent, keeping corporate financing costs low. In the capital market, China’s stock market outperformed many of its global peers in 2025. Hong Kong’s H-shares also performed well, with the Hang Seng Index rising by over 27 percent last year,” Pan added. – Shanika Jayasekara reporting from Beijing