China's economy set to grow with increased industrial production in 2025: Malaysian analyst

China's economy has remained resilient over the last year and is poised for further growth in 2025 with high-quality production set to be a key driver, according to a Malaysian analyst, who noted the tone of Chinese President Xi Jinping's annual New Year address also sends out a positive signal for the year ahead.

In his new year message broadcast on Tuesday, Xi said that China's economy has rebounded and is on an upward trajectory, while noting the need to transform old growth drivers into new ones.

Giving his reaction to Xi's address and outlining his own economic expectations for the coming 12 months, Bunn Nagara, director and senior fellow at the Belt and Road Initiative Caucus for Asia-Pacific (BRICAP) in Malaysia, believes there have been encouraging signs despite various headwinds.

"Of course the big achievement is actually to try to overcome the national economy's challenges. And [President] Xi also talked about the economy experiencing a rebound already in 2024. Although there is a lot more to be done on that score, I think we have seen signs last year of a return to normalcy, post-COVID, for example, a rise in consumer demand, [and] manufacturing doing better. And even the signs of more consumer spending, including areas like outbound tourism. The data is there, and we are seeing a slow but still steady return to economic normalcy. So it's a matter of time I think before the national economy of China returns to pre-COVID days and then to grow even further," he said.

Nagara also highlighted the optimistic tone of Xi’s address, which acknowledged some of the challenges and uncertainties facing the economy but suggested a continued push in China’s industrial production and other new emerging sectors.

The analyst also noted 2025 has been "earmarked" by the Chinese government as a year when "quality production improves significantly over a range of factors".

"This is something that's going to continue over the next few years despite the challenges, but as to how far this will go in terms of quality and quantity of industrial production, we'll have to wait and see, but I think the trend is there, and generally Xi’s address has been one that is upbeat, and also generally optimistic without wallowing in or ignoring the challenges that remain," he said.

On the global front, Nagara noted there is a general recognition of the trends which were alluded to in Xi's speech such as greater cooperation through multilateral organizations like BRICS and among the Global South, particularly in trade and investments, all of which is shaping the international landscape.

Looking ahead, the researcher highlighted China's record-breaking performance in the production of electric vehicles last year, and believes this success can be replicated in other sectors.

"President Xi has also mentioned new quality productive forces and this is something in terms of production factors [that is] achieved by industry at a certain level of industrial maturing, a mature industry, and enjoyed by industry sectors that take production to higher levels. So, one of the achievements out of many in 2024 has been the output of electric vehicles or EVs, and it's reached 80 percent of global output of EVs. And for China, [the production of] more than 10 million [EVs was] already achieved in November 2024. And this is something which inspires production in other industries," Nagara said.

China's economy set to grow with increased industrial production in 2025: Malaysian analyst

A survey released by CGTN to global netizens shows that respondents strongly condemn the U.S.'s unilateral bullying of other countries under the pretext of "reciprocal tariffs," saying that this move may trigger countermeasures from other countries and eventually evolve into a "tariff world war," seriously impacting the world economy.

The U.S. claims that it has suffered losses in international trade and is raising tariffs on all trading partners under the pretext of "reciprocity," aiming to reduce the trade deficit. However, 81.03 percent of global respondents do not agree with this, believing that such measures will not achieve the expected results. During his first term in office, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on major trading partners. According to statistics from the American Action Forum, a think tank, Trump's protectionist policies during the first term cost U.S. consumers about 57 billion U.S. dollars annually. According to the survey, 81.94 percent of respondents believe that "reciprocal tariffs" cannot solve U.S.'s own problems but will only harm the interests of U.S. consumers and drag down the U.S. economic growth.

The competitiveness of products from different countries varies. Each country can set appropriate tariffs based on its own products to achieve "mutual benefit" in the international market. The "tariff farce" of the U.S. side is a selective disregard for the balance of interests reached through multilateral trade negotiations. Some 82.8 percent of the respondents point out that in the context of unequal economic development and economic strength of different countries, the U.S. insistence on full and complete reciprocity in tariffs is extremely irrational.

The majority of the U.S. tariffs this time are targeted at developing countries. Regarding this, 82.96 percent of the respondents condemn the U.S. for conducting "indiscriminate attacks" on other countries on the issue of tariffs, believing that this is a deprivation of the development rights of other countries, especially developing countries. According to the survey, 84.43 percent of the respondents believe that the U.S.'s imposition of "reciprocal tariffs" will exacerbate the problem of trade unfairness with its trading partners and traditional allies, seriously damaging the country's credibility.

As a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the U.S. has unilaterally and subjectively introduced so-called "reciprocal tariffs" and insisted on implementing them. This is a typical act of unilateral bullying. In response, 79.47 percent of the respondents criticize the U.S. for seriously violating the rules of the WTO. In the survey, 79.58 percent of the respondents say that "reciprocal tariffs" have become a new tool for the U.S. to promote trade protectionism, which will further intensify international trade tensions and global economic fragmentation.

This survey was released on CGTN's English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Russian platforms. Within 24 hours, a total of 9,600 overseas netizens participated in the survey and expressed their views.

CGTN poll: US 'reciprocal tariffs' draw condemnation from world