People walk past a screen showing figures of the GDP on a street in Shanghai on Jan. 19, 2026. Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images
Despite the ongoing trade confrontation with the United States, Beijing says China’s economy grew by 5 percent in 2025. The figure precisely matches the regime’s pre-set target and has reignited skepticism among economists and analysts over the credibility of the country’s official economic data.
Chinese state media outlet Xinhua reported that at a press briefing on Jan. 19, Kang Yi, head of China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), announced that China’s gross domestic product (GDP) reached 140.19 trillion yuan (approximately $19.4 trillion) in 2025, representing year-over-year growth of 5 percent in inflation-adjusted terms. It was the third consecutive year that the Chinese regime had set—and claimed to meet—an annual growth target of about 5 percent.
