Chinese advisers call for 5% growth in 2025...China expands visa-free travel...China finds ‘massive’ gold reserve

Chinese advisers call for 5% growth in 2025

Chinese government advisers are recommending that Beijing should maintain an economic growth target of around 5.0% for next year, pushing for stronger fiscal stimulus to mitigate the impact of expected US tariff hikes on the country's exports, reports Reuters. The ambition to sustain a growth pace that seemed difficult to reach throughout 2024, if confirmed, would surprise financial markets betting on a gradual slowdown in the world's second-largest economy as trade tensions intensify.

Four of the six advisers who spoke with Reuters favour a 2025 target of around 5%. One adviser recommends a goal of "above 4%" and another suggests a 4.5-5% range. A Reuters poll this week predicted China will grow 4.5% next year, but also tipped that tariffs could impact growth by up to 1 percentage point.

The advisers, who do not participate in decision-making, will submit their proposals to the closed-door annual Central Economic Work Conference next month, when top leaders discuss policies and goals for next year.

China expands visa-free travel

China announced an expansion of its visa-free travel policy, effective Nov. 30, allowing ordinary passport holders from nine additional countries including Japan, Bulgaria and Romania to enter China without a visa for up to 30 days, reports Caixin. The additions, which also include Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia and Latvia, expands visa-free travel to a total of 38 countries.

Eligible purposes were broadened to include business, tourism, family visits and cultural exchanges. The new policy also extends the visa-free stay duration from 15 days to 30 days and will remain in place through 2025.

China first introduced unilateral 15-day visa-free policies for Singapore, Brunei, and Japan in 2003, but paused these arrangements in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the visa-free policy for Singapore and Brunei was restored in July 2023, Japan’s inclusion in the latest update marks its return to this initiative.

China finds ‘massive’ gold reserve

China has discovered a “massive” new goldfield containing reserves worth tens of billions of dollars in the central province of Hunan, as it steps up efforts to boost domestic reserves of strategic minerals, reports the South China Morning Post. Geologists identified more than 40 new gold veins located less than 2,000 metres (6,560 feet) underground at the Wangu gold mine in Pingjiang county, bringing the total gold resources in the mine’s core area to 300.2 tonnes, the Hunan Provincial Geological Institute said in an online statement on Thursday.

The new find is classified as a “massive” reserve, with its more than 1,000 tonnes of gold deposits estimated to be worth about RMB 600 billion ($82.8 billion) based on current market prices, it said.

Liu Yongjun, the institute’s vice-president, said the discovery was a major achievement for China’s mineral exploration strategy.

Huawei to launch smartphone with own software

China’s national technology champion Huawei is poised to launch its first flagship phone that can run its own apps on a fully homegrown operating system, in the latest sign of how technology is splintering into competing US and Chinese ecosystems, reports the Financial Times. The Mate 70 smartphone set to be released on Tuesday will feature HarmonyOS Next, which Huawei hopes to establish as a third major mobile operating system alongside Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android.

It is the latest demonstration that US sanctions designed to enfeeble the company have instead cemented Huawei’s status as a technological juggernaut. Last month, the group reported sales jumped 30% from a year earlier in the first nine months of 2024.

The software launch on the Mate 70 builds on hardware momentum from last year, when the group unveiled the Mate 60, powered by a self-developed and domestically made processor capable of near 5G speeds—a feat many in Washington believed was not possible.

Amazon courts Chinese sellers for new platform

Amazon.com is inviting select Chinese merchants to join its newly launched “crazy low prices” platform, Haul, as the leading US online shopping platform competes with Temu and Shein to woo budget-conscious consumers, reports the South China Morning Post. Recruitment is by invitation only for now, but the Chinese vendor community already appears excited about this new channel. A factory owner surnamed Wu, who operates an Amazon store selling nail clippers and other goods, said he has yet to receive an invitation to join Haul and was told to wait until at least year-end, but he is keen to get his products listed there.

At a recent event in Foshan in southern Guangdong province, dozens of cross-border merchants, including Wu, listened to tips from “Amazon business development delegates” – agents who are tasked with teaching Chinese vendors how to target overseas shoppers on the platform. Launched on November 13, Haul has started sending invitations to select “high performers” who already run stores on Amazon, one manager said.

On the other side of the Pacific, Amazon is aggressively promoting Haul to US consumers with steep discounts and guaranteed seven-day delivery for 75% of the orders. As the holiday season kicks off, the site has introduced a 50% discount for all purchases made by US customers through Haul.

Targeting growth

Chinese government advisers are recommending that Beijing should maintain an economic growth target of around 5% for next year, as well as encouraging stronger fiscal stimulus to mitigate the impact of expected US tariff hikes. China’s yearly growth targets often feel more manufactured than reflective of the actual economy, and this recommendation doesn’t change that.

The anecdotal feel in China is that things next year are probably going to be worse than this year. Many companies, across a wide range of industries, already have their backs against the wall and there is little sign of light at the end of the tunnel. The stimulus package introduced by the Center earlier in the month was the big chance to kick-start the economy, but now that the markets have had time to settle, the conclusion is that it didn’t really change anything.