China's leaders gather to hash out Trump tariff battle plans

BEIJING, Feb 28 (AFP): China's leadership convenes next week for closed-door meetings to hammer out plans to shield the ailing economy from tariffs and trade threats from US President Donald Trump.

The "Two Sessions" gatherings of the country's parliament and top advisory body are primarily talking shops, rubber-stamping decisions made by the Communist Party while giving a veneer of openness and accountability.

But they do offer a rare glimpse into the leadership's priorities and concerns while facing an unpredictable United States -- China's largest trading partner and strategic rival.

All eyes will be on Wednesday's opening of the National People's Congress (NPC) parliament, where Premier Li Qiang will lay out economic growth goals for 2025, offering insights into just how optimistic Beijing is about the year ahead, as well as new military spending. Analysts polled by AFP broadly agreed that Beijing will set a goal of around five percent growth -- the same as 2024.

Many see that as an ambitious objective given the headwinds China is battling, and Beijing's continued reluctance to inject the economy with the kind of large-scale stimulus observers say it needs. "From the faltering property market to weak household spending, elevated youth unemployment and tariffs, the economy is having a tough time," Harry Murphy Cruise, head of China and Australia economics at Moody's Analytics, told AFP.

"Any one of those challenges would be a headache for officials; combined, they are a migraine."

- More unpredictable -

Likely top of the agenda is Trump, who in just over a month back in the White House has overturned the international order and proven even more unpredictable than in his first term. The US president imposed additional 10 percent duties on products imported from China last month and has threatened more.

The move could affect hundreds of billions of dollars in trade and may worsen if the magnate follows through on his threats of even higher customs levies.