China touts steadiness
China is presenting itself as the steadier economic partner after reporting 5% growth in the first quarter, which Beijing says met its target. Chinese officials are using U.S. tariff uncertainty to court neighbours and the global South — Xi raised American policy volatility while meeting Vietnam’s leader To Lam, and analysts point to rising China‑Africa trade as part of that diplomatic pivot. (bbc.co.uk) (nytimes.com) (scmp.com)
China is using fresh growth numbers to argue that it, not Washington, now offers the steadier economic relationship. (stats.gov.cn) China’s National Bureau of Statistics said on April 16 that gross domestic product grew 5.0% in the first quarter from a year earlier, matching Beijing’s full-year target. Reuters said the result beat economists’ 4.8% forecast and followed 4.5% growth in the fourth quarter of 2025. (stats.gov.cn) (wtaq.com) The same data showed the limits of that rebound. March retail sales rose 1.7%, fixed-asset investment grew 1.7% in the quarter, and real-estate investment fell 11.2%, while industrial output rose 5.7% and the urban jobless rate hit 5.4% in March. (cnbc.com) (stats.gov.cn) Beijing is pairing that data with diplomacy. In Beijing on April 15, Xi Jinping told Vietnam’s President To Lam that the two countries should maintain “strategic clarity” and put political security first during Lam’s first overseas trip since taking the presidency. (usnews.com) (apnews.com) Chinese officials have tied that message to U.S. trade volatility. State media and foreign coverage of Xi’s meeting with Lam said Beijing cast itself as a more predictable partner as countries in Asia weigh the risks of shifting American tariff policy. (bbc.co.uk) (nytimes.com) Africa is another part of that pitch. China’s commerce ministry said it will fully implement zero-tariff treatment for 53 African countries with diplomatic ties to Beijing starting May 1, 2026. (wto.mofcom.gov.cn) (wangwentao2.mofcom.gov.cn) Trade numbers help explain the timing. The South China Morning Post reported in January, citing Chinese customs data, that China’s trade surplus with Africa widened 64.5% in 2025 to a record $102 billion as exports to the continent surged. (scmp.com) Beijing’s case is that it can still deliver growth, market access and industrial demand even as the global outlook turns shakier. Its own statistics bureau, though, warned on April 16 that the external environment is becoming “more complex and volatile” and that domestic demand remains weak. (stats.gov.cn) (cnbc.com) That leaves China selling steadiness abroad while still trying to prove it at home. The next test is whether stronger exports and new trade deals can keep growth at 5% as property stays weak and global demand wobbles. (stats.gov.cn) (wtaq.com)
