China’s ‘two sessions’ 2025: with tech the X factor, does the GDP race still matter?

When President Xi Jinping brought China’s most prominent entrepreneurs to Beijing for a symposium on February 17, his message was clear: though the race for economic and technological supremacy will be long, the country will ultimately come out on top.

The world’s second-largest economy has been plunged into a new trade war with the United States, as a flurry of tit-for-tat tariffs has settled in and more are likely to arrive. Investor sentiment and consumer confidence, two key pillars of domestic activity, have been subdued.

Though Beijing’s gross domestic product gap with Washington had widened for a third straight year, the Chinese president remained optimistic.

“The East still holds a great deal of promise in the long run, and the Chinese economy remains incomparable on the world stage.”

This declaration comes as US President Donald Trump is pulling out all the stops to consolidate his country’s economic supremacy.