China’s economy grew more than expected in the last three months of 2024, official data showed on Friday, as it awaits the likely imposition of fresh tariffs by US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office next week.

Even before Donald Trump takes office on Monday, trade tensions between the world’s biggest economies are already heating up.

U.S. imports from China finished the year strong after some companies stockpiled shipments of apparel, toys, furniture and electronics ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's plan to impose new tariffs that could revive a trade war between the world's economic superpowers.

China’s economy hit the government’s growth goal last year after an 11th hour stimulus blitz and export boom turbocharged activity, although looming US tariffs threaten to take away a key driver of expansion.

China's economy likely rebounded in the fourth quarter as several rounds of policy stimulus kicked in, enabling the government to largely meet its 2024 growth target, though the risk of new U.S. tariffs could hold back a broader recovery.

The reason Gao is allegedly being silenced is for shining a brighter-than-usual spotlight on one of the biggest perception problems facing Xi’s Communist Party: that China routinely cooks the GDP books.

KEY TAKEAWAYS China met its annual 5% GDP growth target for 2024, thanks to the stimulus measures that buoyed economic activity in the fourth quarter.According to the country's National Bureau of Statistics,

China's economy ended 2024 on better footing than expected helped by a flurry of stimulus measures, although the threat of a new trade war with the United States and weak domestic demand could hurt confidence in a broader recovery this year.