Experts expect China's economy to continue growing amid uncertainties in global landscape

A group of experts said they are expecting China's economy to post steady growth in 2026 despite an increasingly uncertain global situation that posts challenges to the country's development.

The experts made the remarks in a recent interview with China Global Television Network in south China's tech hub Shenzhen, Guangdong Province.

An official for Qianhai, a special economic zone that has become a critical growth engine for south China's Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area city cluster, said that like other major economies around the world, China is also facing increasing challenges, but he believes the country will post steady growth in 2026.

"I mean [for] other major economies right now, they [are] kind of also facing a bit of challenges. Geopolitical risks are rising. Trade war [has] not yet completely ended. But having said that, I think [for] China, there is also a domestic-oriented economy. You know that 80 percent -- more than 80 percent -- is still domestic demand. And also we start to see some kind of, particularly in the areas like the new industries, but even in some kind of the broad-based industry, we still see the manufacturing investments keep rising despite the uncertainties, despite all these various kinds of pressures. I expect China's economy still going to remain kind of a stable piece of growth. [The growth rate of] four point five to five percent, I think, is still going to be quite achievable for the next twelve months or so," said Qu Hongbin, chief economist for Qianhai authority.

Greg Smith, chairman at AustCham South China, an institute for promoting Australia-China commercial relationship, said China's resilient partnerships with other countries around the world can help the country navigate through the uncertain global landscape.

"I think that you'd be a very brave person to bet against the Chinese economy. It's been resilient over a long period and it's gone through some fairly strong headwinds and come out with still the flag waving. Taking some of the issues that you're talking about with tariffs and the geopolitics that's in place, there's resilience in the partnership [which] is what all the countries are looking for in their trades. So the stronger relationships that you have, I think that's going to really be the bedrock to making sure that we do hit the 4.5 [growth] rate. I think all the countries around the world are looking for trusted partners to be able to work and trade with," said Smith.

Sunny Tan, chairman at the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC), said he believes the rest of the world wants to be part of China's economic growth.

"I would say that China has a very, very good number -- achievable number. And I can see the big market by itself, the resilience, and also [it] is really providing a certainty in the time of uncertainty. Our country can continue to grow as planned. At the same time we can see very good interest from around the world, who wants to be part of this growth, and be wanting [who wants this growth] to be in China," Tan said.

Qin Youming, founder and CEO of Manifold Tech, a startup based in Shenzhen, said the entrepreneurs still see opportunities in globalization and companies should be quick in adapting themselves to the changing environment to survive.

"For market wise, we still see there are opportunities in globalization even though there are a lot of geopolitical matters going on. But the uniqueness of the Greater Bay Area, I think, is still unmatched, like the talents we can find here, the craftsmanship, the well experienced engineers here, is [are] still unmatched. I think even though there's uncertainty around the world, the business has to grow globally. Anyone who can adapt [themselves to] this quickly can survive," he said.

Experts expect China's economy to continue growing amid uncertainties in global landscape

Japan must take seriously an incident in which an officer from the country's Self-Defense Forces broke into the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo armed with a knife, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday, calling on Japanese authorities to conduct a thorough investigation.

Lin made the remarks in response to a media query about whether Japanese officials had given China any assurance that something like this will not happen again, and whether the incident risks widening the schism between Tokyo and Beijing.

"The incident once again highlighted the danger of the rampant spread of far-right impact and neo-militarism in the country. It also reveals the toxicity of the Japanese government's erroneous policies on vital issues concerning China-Japan relations such as history and Taiwan, and Japan’s failure in maintaining discipline in Self-Defense Force and in fulfilling its responsibility to protect the Chinese diplomatic and consular premises and personnel," Lin said.

"With regard to what measures the Japanese side will take to properly handle the incident and get rid of the root cause for such incidents once and for all, I'd refer you to the Japanese side. The international community, including China, is watching," he said.

The spokesman also debunked reports by the Japanese media that the officer who broke into the Chinese embassy said he was trying to merely convey his opinions to the ambassador.

"Have you ever seen an individual who, armed with a knife, entered the embassy without permission to convey opinions to the ambassador? The man, a sitting officer of Japan's Self-Defence Forces, scaled the wall and broke into the Chinese embassy with a knife with a 18-centimeter-long blade. This is the fact that the Japanese police found out. It's also a fact that he threatened to kill Chinese diplomats in the so-called 'name of god.' The Japanese side must take it seriously and thoroughly investigate the incident," Lin said.

China urges thorough investigations following armed intrusion at Tokyo embassy