Gao’s sin? Saying that China may have grown just 2% over the last two or three years, less than half the rate Xi’s government claims. The reason Gao is allegedly being silenced is for shining a brighter-than-usual spotlight on one of the biggest perception problems facing Xi’s Communist Party: that China routinely cooks the GDP books.

China reported its economy grew 5% in 2024, meeting its target of around 5%. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected China's full-year GDP growth to come in at 4.9%, just shy of the official target of around 5% — which analysts had said was ambitious.

China said that its economy expanded by 5% last year, but a variety of weak signals have raised skepticism among some outside economists.

China’s economy hit the government’s growth goal last year, after an 11th hour stimulus blitz combined with an export push before looming US tariffs turbocharged activity in the final quarter.

China’s economy expanded by 5% year on year in 2024, with an upswing in the final quarter of the year, as a flurry of stimulus measures kicked in and helped meet Beijing’s growth target.

KEY TAKEAWAYS China met its annual 5% GDP growth target for 2024, thanks to the stimulus measures that buoyed economic activity in the fourth quarter.According to the country's National Bureau of Statistics,

China’s economy expanded 5% in 2024, meeting the official target of “around 5%” growth after stimulus measures introduced late last year appear to be working.