By Hasan Muhammad

Editor's Note: The writer is a freelance columnist on international affairs based in Karachi, Pakistan. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of China Economic Net.

According to the latest China Economic Update from the World Bank Group, China’s economy is projected to grow by 4.5% in 2025 and 4% in 2026. While these figures may appear modest in comparison to the breakneck pace of earlier decades, they remain robust when set against the backdrop of a global economic slowdown.

China’s relative resilience is no accident. It is the result of a deliberate and increasingly strategic shift in macroeconomic policy. As trade restrictions and external uncertainties take a toll on exports and manufacturing, Beijing is leaning into fiscal policy to cushion the blow by ramping up infrastructure investment, expanding subsidies, and bolstering social protection. In effect, China is applying the its own playbook at a time when much of the West remains politically gridlocked and ideologically averse to large-scale public investment.

This is not to suggest that China’s path forward is free of obstacles. The country faces acute structural challenges. But China’s response to these challenges is pragmatic and forward-looking. Recognizing that household consumption must become a more prominent driver of growth, Chinese policymakers are increasingly focused on expanding the social safety net - especially for migrant and informal workers who constitute a vast segment of the population. As Mara Warwick, the World Bank’s Director for China, Mongolia, and South Korea, noted, enhancing financial security through stronger social protections could reduce precautionary savings and unleash a new wave of domestic consumption.

In a sense, this marks a subtle but important transformation in the Chinese model. The old growth formula - fueled by exports and infrastructure - is giving way to a more balanced, consumption-driven model. It’s a shift that Western economists have long advocated, and Beijing now appears determined to pursue it, not out of external pressure but from internal necessity and self-interest.

The World Bank has downgraded growth projections for almost every major economy in the wake of trade salvos. The eurozone is expected to grow by just 0.7% this year, Japan by a meager 0.7%, and even India, the current poster child for emerging market dynamism, will slow to 6.3%.

None of this is to romanticize the Chinese economy or to ignore its imperfections. But in an era where many economies are paralyzed by polarization and populism, Beijing’s ability to formulate and implement coherent economic policy is proving to be an asset.

Moreover, China’s global ambitions increasingly align with the aspirations of many developing countries. Through platforms like the Belt and Road Initiative and multilateral engagements such as the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, Beijing is presenting itself as a partner - emphasizing mutual development, infrastructure financing, and technological cooperation. This soft-power strategy is winning hearts and markets, especially in the Global South.

In the meantime, China is forging ahead. Its economy may no longer dazzle with double-digit growth, but it is showing something just as valuable: resilience, adaptability, and a quiet confidence that - in this era of uncertainty - may be the most important asset of all.