How will China’s economic growth benefit the region?

10/03
China has set an ambitious 5.5 per cent target for economic growth this year despite the
many challenges it faces. The government's job has been made much harder by the
economic fallout from the war in Ukraine, partly as a result of harsh international sanctions
imposed on Russia for its invasion.
The World Bank is already predicting that high oil prices could shave a full percentage point
off the growth of large oil-importing countries, including China. Add to that more
disruptions to supply chains, already in disarray from the pandemic, and spikes in prices of
commodities such as copper, nickel and wheat, all of which are major imports of China, and
the headwinds are strong indeed.
Faced with the current circumstances, China faces an uphill task in reaching its 5.5 per cent
target. Furthermore, President Xi plans to run for an unprecedented third presidential term,
hence he needs to ensure the country’s economy is increasing at a stable rate in order to
retain both public opinion and the support of the various high-ranking officials. Hence he
would have to implement various measures including fiscal stimulus, infrastructure
investment and monetary easing in order to ensure China’s economy remains stable,
especially the financing on real estate after the Evergrande’s huge debt was revealed.
If China is able to hit its target, neighbouring countries that do trade with China would also
benefit substantially from China’s growth.
The big question is CAN China hit that target? Well that can be anyone’s guess as of the
current situation is very unpredictable with sanctions growing against Russia over Ukraine.