China pulled off better-than-expected economic growth in the second quarter of 2025, despite ongoing trade tensions with the US, multiple media outlets report.
Official figures showed gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 5.2 percent year-on-year, 0.1 percent more than what economists polled by Reuters predicted last week. Growth for the first half of the year amounted to 5.3 percent compared with the same period in 2024. Beijing has an annual growth target of around 5 percent, which economists have deemed ambitious given headwinds facing the country’s export-centric economy.
At a press conference, deputy commissioner of the National Bureau of Statistics, Sheng Laiyun, noted that “rapidly shifting international dynamics and significantly increased external pressure” had made for a challenging second quarter.
“We are also keenly aware that the external environment remains complex and volatile, internal structural problems have yet to be fundamentally resolved, and the foundation of economic performance still needs to be further strengthened,” he said.
[See more: China’s exports beat expectations in June]
Beijing and Washington have a current deadline of 12 August to agree on a formal trade deal in the wake of a tentative truce that saw Washington’s 145 percent tariff rate on Chinese imports dropped to a still high 30 percent.
The Economist Intelligence Unit’s principal economist for Asia, Nick Marro, told CNN that the two countries’ trade war hadn’t resulted in as massive a shock to China’s economic performance as investors initially feared.
However, he saw sluggish consumer confidence and the still-stressed property sector as reasons 2025 GDP could fall short of the central government’s expectations.
Wei Yao, an economist at Societe Generale, told Reuters the second half of the year’s outlook appeared “set to sour” as the boon of export front-loading earlier in the year fades and the impact of US tariffs becomes more visible.
