In a New Year’s address, Xi Jinping made a rare acknowledgment of the flagging economy while reiterating the government’s growth targets.

Decisions made by America’s next president and his mostly China-hawkish team will affect matters that Mr Xi regards as critically linked to the Communist Party’s grip on power. First is the economy. Mr Trump has threatened to impose a 60% tariff on imports from China,

Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed support for the country’s vulnerable elderly and youth in a new year address that acknowledged the strains on some of the 1.4bn-strong population. Xi’s speech comes after his economic planners have for much of the past four years struggled to restore consumer confidence or address rising youth unemployment and slow wage growth.

Weeks before Trump takes office, the Chinese leader is seeking to shore up confidence that China’s economy can withstand threats.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ended the year with a threat over Taiwan, saying "no one can stop the reunification" with China.

China’s economic growth is expected to be around 5% for the full year of 2024, according to President Xi Jinping, signaling the world’s second-largest economy is on track to meet its official target.

"The people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family," Mr Xi said in a speech televised on China's state broadcaster CCTV. “No one can sever our family bonds, and no one can stop the historical trend of national reunification.”

In his New Year’s speech, Chinese President Xi Jinping said, ‘The people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family. No one can sever our family bonds, and no one can stop the historical trend

Xi Jinping's New Year address marks a bold escalation in China's stance on Taiwan, declaring that 'no one can stop' the reunification of the island with the mainland.

China's President Xi Jinping said Tuesday that "no one can stop" unification with Taiwan, as he addressed the nation in a New Year's speech.

No one can sever our family bonds, and no one can stop the historical trend of national reunification,' said the Chinese leader