‘China shock 2.0’ is a false narrative born of Western anxiety: Chinese media

A leading Chinese state media outlet has run back-to-back front-page editorials over the past two days pushing back against claims that China’s economy is losing steam and that the global economy is experiencing a “China shock 2.0”.“Looking across the globe, China’s growth target stands out as second to none,” the state-run Economic Daily wrote in a Thursday editorial, noting that the country’s goal of achieving 4.5 to 5 per cent growth in 2026 was far higher than the 2.6 per cent global growth rate forecast by the World Bank in January.It added that the target reflected China’s “strategic composure and policy acumen in pursuing steady, long-term development”, noting it had silenced claims that the economy was “losing speed”.The comments came after Beijing set its lowest annual growth target since 1991 for this year, with policymakers focused on transforming the Chinese economy to put it on a more sustainable footing and reduce its vulnerability to external pressures.With China just starting to implement its latest five-year plan, an overly ambitious growth target could lead to resources being misallocated and undermine the leadership’s long-term goals, the article said.At the same time, an excessively low growth rate would fail to support industrial upgrading and technological innovation, it added, calling the 4.5 to 5 per cent target a “reasonable range”.