CHINA has the confidence and capability to mitigate the adverse impacts of external shocks on its economy and sustain sound economic development, a Chinese official said on Thursday.
The external environment is growing more complex, severe and uncertain, posing challenges to the stable growth of the global economy and trade, all of which may impact the steady operation of China’s economy, said Li Chao, spokesperson with the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s top economic planner.
China’s economy grew by 5.4 per cent year on year in the first quarter of 2025, up from the 5 per cent full-year growth rate recorded in 2024.
It is targeting full-year economic growth of about 5 per cent this year.
With existing supportive policies continuing to take effect while new measures being rolled out, ‘we have the confidence and capability to mitigate the uncertainties and adverse impacts of external shocks, and sustain sound economic growth’, Li told a press conference.
In particular, Li said, the country’s large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-in programmes have played a growing role in stabilising investment, stimulating consumption, promoting economic transformation and improving people’s livelihood.
Boosted by the consumer goods trade-in programme, sales of household appliances, furniture and communication devices have registered rapid growth, with sales related to trade-ins surpassing 1.4 trillion yuan (about $195.48 billion) so far this year, she said.
The country has earmarked 300 billion yuan in ultra-long special treasury bonds to support the programme in 2025, with the first two tranches of the funding, totalling 162 billion yuan, issued in January and April.
The third batch of the funding will be allocated in July to support the implementation of the programme, Li said.
Earlier, a Chinese defence spokesperson expressed firm opposition to NATO using China as an excuse to ‘expand eastward into the Asia-Pacific’.
Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of National Defence, made the statement at a press conference in response to recent remarks from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Zhang said ‘China adheres to the path of peaceful development, and is committed to a national defence policy that is defensive in nature.
‘China’s military development is purely aimed at safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, while its cooperation with Russia does not target at any third party, nor will it be interfered with by any third party, he said.
‘NATO, on the other hand, stirs up troubles and provokes conflicts and wars in various regions, making itself a true war machine,’ Zhang added.
‘In recent years, NATO has overstretched its geographic boundary stipulated by its own Treaty, and expanded its power and authority, arousing high vigilance among countries in the region,’ he said.
‘China urges NATO to reflect on its own behaviours, change course, and contribute more to global security and stability,’ Zhang concluded.
He urged the United States to gain an objective and rational perception of China and to cease its deception and misleading of the US public and the international community.
The National Defence spokesperson made the remarks in response to a question about recent comments by the US secretary of defence describing China as a ‘threat’ and stressing US deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region to ‘achieve peace through strength’.
The United States also plans to strengthen its forces’ combat readiness in the region and boost the defence capabilities of Taiwan.
Noting that the Taiwan question is purely China’s internal affairs and brooks no foreign interference, Zhang urged the US side to stop blaming China for everything and create favourable conditions for developing relations between the two countries and their militaries.
‘China never threatens any country with its own development, nor does it resort to deterrence and coercion like a certain country,’ Zhang said.
Separately, Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov has said anti-Russian and anti-Chinese blocs being created in the Asia-Pacific region by the US, the UK, and other countries are having a destructive impact on the regional stability in the region.
‘The activities of certain states to create closed, anti-Chinese and anti-Russian blocs in the Asia-Pacific region are having a destructive impact on stability,’ he said at a meeting of SCO defence officials in Qingdao.
Belousov listed AUKUS (Australia, the UK, and the US) and the US-Japan-South Korea alliance as examples of such blocs.
Meanwhile, the intelligence agencies of Russia and China are constantly interacting and increasing their comprehensive cooperation, Director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergey Naryshkin, told TASS.
‘We maintain a constant dialogue and cooperate well with the intelligence services of friendly China. And this interaction is expanding year by year,’ Naryshkin noted.
‘Yes,’ he said in response to a question about whether this dynamic is observed in all areas of cooperation.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was on Thursday set to meet with his visiting Laotian counterpart, Thongsavanh Phomvihane to discuss cooperation in the Asia Pacific region, as well as issues of trade, defence, and security.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said earlier that the top Laotian diplomat would pay an official visit to Russia on June 24 through 29.
Along with talks with his Russian counterpart, the Laotian foreign minister is scheduled to meet with Irek Faizullin, Russian minister of construction and housing and Russian co-chair of the bilateral commission for trade-and-economic and scientific-and-technical cooperation.
Russia and Laos maintain regular contacts. Thus, the top Laotian diplomat’s previous visit to Russia took place in May, when he attended celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazism.
It was planned initially that the celebrations would be attended by President of Laos, Thongloun Sisoulith, but he could not come because of Covid. The Laotian military took part in the Victory Parade in Moscow’s Red Square.
Laotian Deputy Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith took part in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in earlier in June.
President Thongloun Sisoulith attended the BRICS summit in Kazan in October 2024. He said back then that his country wanted to become a full-fledged member of the association.
This October, the two countries will mark the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
In May 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on the ratification of the intergovernmental agreement on military cooperation between Russia and Laos, which was signed in Moscow on August 13, 2024.
