ISTANBUL / BEIJING

China’s economy expanded by 5% in 2025, meeting the government’s annual growth target, official data showed on Monday.

According to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) exceeding a record of 140 trillion yuan (around $20 trillion).

The world’s second-largest economy achieved growth in line with the government’s goal of about 5%, despite pressures from weak domestic demand, deflationary trends, a prolonged downturn in the real estate sector, and external uncertainties linked to US tariff policies.

China’s economy grew by 2.2% in 2020, 8.4% in 2021, 3% in 2022, 5.2% in 2023, and 5% in 2024, according to official data.

Output, consumption rise while investment declines

Data from the statistics bureau showed that industrial output increased by 5.9% in 2025, while services rose by 5.4%. Retail sales, a key gauge of consumption and domestic demand, grew by 3.7%.

Fixed-asset investment, including spending on infrastructure, real estate, machinery, and equipment, fell by 3.8% year-on-year.

The decline was largely driven by the property sector, where investment dropped by 17.2%, extending a downturn that has continued for three years.

China’s strong external trade performance helped offset domestic weaknesses. The country’s trade surplus reached $1.19 trillion in 2025, surpassing $1 trillion in a single year for the first time.

Fourth-quarter growth slows

Economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2025 slowed to 4.5% year-on-year, down from 4.8% in the third quarter, marking the weakest quarterly expansion since the first quarter of 2023.

Capacity utilization in the industrial sector fell by 1.3 percentage points to 74.9% at the end of 2025. The unemployment rate stood at 5.2%, up 0.1 percentage point from the end of 2024.

Real disposable income per capita increased by 5% in 2025, with urban incomes rising by 4.3% and rural incomes by 6%.