BOCIC Xu Gao: Government investment may be the key to stabilizing economic growth in 2026

The chief economist of BOCIC, Xu Gao, stated that regarding the outlook for the Chinese economy, he expects the GDP growth rate to reach 5% by 2025. The year 2026 marks the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan, and to welcome a good start, he anticipates that the government will relax funding expenditures and increase investments, with government investment being a key lever for stabilizing economic growth in 2026. Xu Gao pointed out that the Central Economic Work Conference in December this year explicitly proposed "promoting investment to stop declining and stabilize," which contrasts with last year's emphasis on "improving investment efficiency." If the requirement is to "improve investment effectiveness," it may constrain the expansion of investment scale. He believes that this year's statement of "promoting investment to stop declining and stabilize" is a very positive signal