China's economy gets New Year boost from holiday travel and shopping

During the Lunar New Year holiday, China saw a boost in domestic consumption, with 500 million domestic tourist trips, a 5.9 per cent increase from last year. Retail sales, particularly of household appliances and communication equipment, grew by over 10 per cent. Despite this, China’s economy faces challenges, including a sluggish real estate market and growing trade tensions with the US, which imposed additional tariffs, prompting retaliatory actions from Beijing. The government aims for around 5 per cent GDP growth in 2025.