China Neican

Xi Jinping’s 2026 New Year address marks a shift from reassurance toward confidence at the close of the 14th Five-Year Plan. It portrays the past five years as a completed and successful phase of Chinese modernisation, reinforcing a sense of achievement while sidestepping uncertainty and challenges as China enters a new planning cycle. Wang Yi’s year-end stocktake and agenda for 2026 shows how Chinese diplomacy is being adjusted at the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan.

Beijing’s latest support measures for the property sector appear to conflict with its common prosperity agenda by disproportionately benefiting high-income groups. This situation underscores a persistent governance challenge for Beijing: balancing immediate economic pressures with long-term ideological commitments. Since September, Beijing has announced extensive measures to stabilise the struggling property sector.

On 31 October, the Communist Party journal Qiushi published an article by Xi Jinping titled Facilitating High-Quality and Full Employment (促进高质量充分就业), based on a speech Xi delivered at a Politburo Study Session in May. In this speech, Xi highlights the Party’s commitment to fostering high-quality, full employment as a cornerstone of public welfare, economic resilience, and national stability.

Date range: October 28 - November 5, 2024 Sources scanned: 104 Publications: 162 China Watching China Neican Xi Jinping on Facilitating High-Quality and Full Employment Property Market Support and Common Prosperity: A Contradiction? ChinaFile How Much Will New Stimulus Improve China’s Economic Outlook?

Date range: November 3-11, 2024 Sources scanned: 104 Publications: 160 China Watching ChinaFile ChinaFile Presents: ‘Nikah,’ a Film Screening and Discussion How Much Will New Stimulus Improve China’s Economic Outlook? Made in China Journal China’s Urban Question: The Other Side of the Agrarian Question Digital Hope or Digital Trap?

Date range: November 10-18, 2024 Sources scanned: 104 Publications: 170 China Watching China Neican Short-Term Relief, Long-Term Challenges: Beijing’s Economic Response 💡 The article argues that while Beijing's recent economic measures, including a 10 trillion yuan local government debt restructuring package and property market support initiatives, may provide short-term economic stabilisation, they do not address deeper structural issues such as overreliance on investment-led growth and weak...

On May 9, Chinese President Xi Jinping joined Russian President Vladimir Putin at Moscow’s Victory Day parade in Red Square, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. Xi’s appearance as guest of honour sent a clear signal of Sino-Russian solidarity amid deepening confrontation with the West. This year’s commemorations went beyond ceremony.

Beijing's recent economic interventions offer short-term relief for key sectors but fail to address underlying economic issues. Without tackling structural imbalances, Beijing risks locking China into a cycle of temporary fixes that leave its long-term economic health in jeopardy. After months of weak economic performance, Beijing has introduced a series of measures aimed at stabilising the economy.

Recent public messaging from Washington and Beijing presents sharply divergent accounts of the status of bilateral trade negotiations. On April 24, President Donald Trump stated that the United States and China were “actively” discussing trade.

Beijing and Washington have just announced a 90-day tariff truce, with both sides agreeing to roll back tariffs. The United States will reduce tariffs on Chinese imports from 145 to 30 per cent, while China will lower its tariffs on American goods from 125 to 10 per cent. The agreement, reached during high-level talks in Geneva, marks a tentative step toward de-escalation—even as the broader trade conflict, underpinned by strategic mistrust, remains unresolved.