China’s economy grows 5% in 2025, buoyed by strong exports despite Trump’s tariffs

Visitors skate across a frozen lake at Shichahai in Beijing, China, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026.

HONG KONG — China’s economy expanded at a 5 per cent annual pace in 2025, buoyed by strong exports despite Trump’s tariffs.

However, growth slowed to a 4.5 per cent rate in the last quarter of the year, the government said Monday. That was the slowest quarterly growth since late 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The economy, the world’s second largest, grew at a 4.8 per cent annual pace in the previous quarter.

China’s leaders have been trying to spur faster growth after a slump in the property market and disruptions from the pandemic rippled through the economy.

Strong exports helped to compensate for weak consumer spending and business investment, contributing to a record trade surplus of $1.2 trillion.

As expected, annual growth last year was in line with the government’s official target for an expansion of “about 5%.”