【By Observer News, Wang Kaiwen】According to Xinhua News Agency, the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee held a meeting on July 30 to analyze the current economic situation and deploy economic work for the second half of the year, clarifying the direction for completing the annual economic and social development goals and achieving a successful conclusion to the "14th Five-Year Plan".

This year, the Chinese gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.3% in the first half of the year, ranking among the top in major global economies; in the context of increasingly complex international trade situations and global economic pressure, it highlights the strong vitality and resilience of the Chinese economy.

This Politburo meeting has drawn widespread attention from overseas media.

"China's top decision-making body released confidence in the economic outlook on Wednesday, promising support for economic growth and addressing the issue of 'disorderly competition'." wrote Nikkei Asia.

The report said that although there are challenges, the meeting overall sent positive signals. China has successfully resisted the tariff shocks from the United States so far. And thanks to strong export performance and government subsidies for consumer goods, China's economic growth this year reached 5.3%, exceeding the target of around 5% for the whole year.

On July 29, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released an updated version of its flagship report, "World Economic Outlook". China's growth forecast was raised the most, with this year's economic growth expectation increased from 4% to 4.8%. The IMF pointed out that this adjustment reflects stronger-than-expected economic activity in China this year, as well as the impact of significant reductions in U.S.-China tariffs.

On May 13, 2025, in Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province, an automated production line for new energy vehicles is operating efficiently. Oriental IC

Notably, this Politburo meeting did not mention "reducing reserve requirements or interest rates". Analysts point out that the Chinese economy has delivered a good performance in the first half of the year, and the probability of interest rate cuts in the short term is low.

In a report released after the meeting, Wang Lisheng, an economist at Goldman Sachs China, wrote: "The decision-making circle holds an optimistic view on China's economic growth in the first half of the year, and it is unlikely to introduce large-scale broad stimulus policies in the short term... If there is a significant growth pressure, policymakers may still implement targeted gradual easing policies when appropriate."

Song Lin, chief economist for Greater China at ING, believes that China's monetary policy stance remains inclined towards easing, but considering that the economy exceeded expectations in the first half of the year and the possibility of a prolonged trade truce between China and the United States is high, China does not have an urgent need for large-scale stimulus policies in the short term.

This year, China's economy has maintained stability with progress, and new achievements have been made in high-quality development. However, the Politburo meeting also pointed out that China's economic operation still faces many risks and challenges. The meeting emphasized "consolidating and expanding the momentum of economic recovery and improvement" and "continuously preventing and resolving risks in key areas."

Many foreign media believe that China has listed "fighting against internal competition" as an urgent priority.

Bloomberg pointed out that recently, Chinese officials have repeatedly warned about the harm of "internal competition", believing that it compresses corporate profit margins and hinders income growth.

The Politburo meeting on July 30 emphasized deepening the construction of a national unified market and promoting continuous optimization of the market competition order. It called for governing enterprise disorderly competition in accordance with laws and regulations. Promote capacity governance in key industries. Regulate local investment promotion behavior.

"This is a very high-level signal, indicating that 'fighting against internal competition' is definitely a policy priority at present," said Hu Weizhun, chief economist of Macquarie China. He added, "Regulating local government investment promotion behavior is a very accurate diagnosis of the root cause of the internal competition problem."

Previously, local officials often attracted investors through tax reductions and subsidies, leading to companies clustering in hot areas, forming homogenized competition.

This Politburo meeting added relevant statements about building a national unified market, which corresponds with the statement from the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission meeting on July 1 regarding deepening the construction of a national unified market.

China Merchants Bank Research Institute analyzed that deepening the construction of a national unified market will focus on "fighting against internal competition", focusing on three aspects: governing enterprises' disorderly competition in accordance with laws and regulations, capacity governance in key industries, and regulating local investment promotion behavior.

Notably, compared to the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission meeting, the expression in this meeting has two changes: first, "low price" is omitted, indicating that the policy focuses on correcting enterprises' disorderly competition behaviors, rather than low prices themselves; second, "ordered exit of backward production capacity" was changed to "capacity governance in key industries", possibly aiming to focus on the scope of governance and standardize the way of governance, prevent the generalization of "backward production capacity" in policy implementation, and maintain flexibility in handling to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach.

This article is an exclusive article of Observer News. Without permission, it cannot be reprinted.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7533180555081335331/

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