Industrial, tech advancements drive growth at start of 2025: expert

Industrial and technological advancements spurred China's economic growth in the first two months of 2025, as recovering domestic demand and robust exports boosted the industrial and service sectors, an economist said on Monday.

China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, went up 5.9 percent year on year in the first two months of 2025, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Monday.

The NBS data also shows that the Index of Services Production grew by 5.6 percent year on year in the first two months, 0.4 percentage points faster than that of 2024.

Shi Fanqi, assistant professor at Peking University's School of Economics, told China Media Group (CMG) that the industrial sector's growth stemmed from a rebound in domestic and foreign demand.

"I think actually there are different reasons behind the growth for the industry sector and the service sector. For the industrial sector, I think it's mostly driven by the demand side. So as we all know, especially for the past few years, China has very strong production capacity, but consumption was relatively weak. But now for the first two months we see that there is government subsidy to consumer demand. So, that means the domestics demand is actually picking up. And also for the first two months we have a relatively or generally stable global environment. And then we also see a pickup in foreign demand. Actually the growth in export for the first two months was more than 3 percent. So, we see the demand side, with the rise of the demand side, then we can also see growth in the industrial (sector), because the supply is meant to meet the demand. So that's for the growth in the industrial sector," he said.

For the service sector, high-tech industries, particularly information transmission, software, and IT services, led the way with a 9.3 percent growth rate. Leasing and business services, wholesale and retail, and finance also saw significant increases of 8.8 percent, 5.6 percent, and 5.5 percent, respectively, according to the NBS data.

"For the growth of the service sector, it's actually mostly driven by technology advancements. So to see that, we see that the average growth for the service sector is like 5.6 percent. But the highest growth is witnessed in sectors in high-tech industries and in particular, information transmission and information technology. So, that means that recent technological advancements, in particular development in AI, is very key to that growth," Shi said.

Shi noted that the dual-track growth in both sectors reflects China's ability to leverage its production capacity, technological innovation, and policy support to navigate global economic challenges.

Industrial, tech advancements drive growth at start of 2025: expert

The Trump administration's move to cut public funding for the Voice of America (VOA), a propaganda tool for the U.S. government, is due to competing interests and struggles between different political factions, a Chinese expert said during an interview on Monday.

U.S. President Donald Trump on March 14 signed an executive order, which listed the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the parent agency of VOA, as part of "unnecessary" federal bureaucracy.

More than 1,300 VOA employees, including journalists, producers and assistants, were reportedly placed on administrative leave on Saturday.

Diao Daming, deputy director of the Center for American Studies at Renmin University of China, shared his insights on why Trump halted funding for the agency during his second term.

"He feels that VOA has not effectively fulfilled its mission to make the United States great again and serve the country's interests. On the other hand, public opinion institutions under the USAGM, including VOA, have been openly critical of Trump, his team, and his administration, particularly regarding certain policies during his first term. After assuming office for a second term, Trump swiftly implemented this tough measure, which is evidently influenced by competing interests and struggles between different political factions," said Diao.

Founded in 1942, the VOA has long served as a political tool for the U.S. government, engaging in ideological confrontation and shaping public opinion. For over 80 years, regardless of whether the Democratic or Republican Party was in power, funding for institutions like VOA remained uninterrupted.

Experts described the VOA as a propaganda machine aimed at ideological infiltration in certain regions, as many of its programs are inaccessible within the United States and are instead broadcast exclusively to specific countries abroad.

"In the past, when I served as a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, I encountered VOA reporters at domestic events, international conferences, and various occasions. They would, for example, selectively ask questions during interviews, selectively edit our responses, and then selectively report and broadcast them. Given such practices, how much credibility can VOA really have?" said Yang Yujun, dean of the Academy of Media and Public Affairs at the Communication University of China.

Trump's cut to VOA due to struggles between different political factions: expert