China puts onus on stability as Beijing vows domestic support amid US trade war

China’s leadership has vowed to stabilise the economy and society, as the country is now at a critical stage in handling the unprecedented trade war with the United States.

In an economic-analysis meeting on Friday, the 24-man Politburo, a prime decision-making body headed by President Xi Jinping, said authorities would roll out specific plans to support companies and individuals affected by the trade war.

They pledge to “coordinate domestic economic work with international economic and trade engagements, resolutely focus on doing our own affairs, steadfastly expand high-level opening up, and focus on stabilising employment, businesses, markets, and expectations”, according to a meeting readout released by Xinhua.

“By enhancing the certainty of high-quality development, we can effectively respond to the uncertainties brought by drastic changes in the external environment,” it said.

The Politburo meeting typically sets the tone for the country’s economic work in the second quarter.

This year, it has come amid uncertainty over how the world’s second-largest economy will fare in an escalated tariff war with the US while trying to meet leadership’s annual growth target of “around 5 per cent”, after a solid start in the first quarter saw gross domestic product rise by 5.4 per cent.