TMTPOST -- Chinese stocks traded in the United States extended their rally on Wednesday after China showed its aim to maintain a steady economic growth this year with more fiscal stimulus to weather the new round of trade war.

Credit：Xinhua News Agency

The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index, which tracks 65 China-exposed U.S.-listed companies, finished 6.4% higher at 8,073.43, the highest in the past five months. The index marked its best day since December, outperforming the U.S. benchmark S&P 500 with a rally of 1.12% on Wednesday.

The American depositary receipts (ADRs) of Alibaba Group, the most valuable Chinese firm listed in U.S., surged 8.6%, and two domestic peers --Temu parent PDD Holdings Inc. and JD.com jumped 6% and 6.9%, respectively. China’s leading video platform Bilibili gained 5.8%. ADRs of Baidu, China’s top search engine operator, rose 5.4%. Shares of four Tesla’s Chinese rivals -- Zeekr, Xpeng, Nio and Li Auto popped between 3.1% and 10.2%.  

Exchange-trade funds (ETFs) tracking the investment in Chinese equities also climbed. The KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF, the Roundhill China Dragons ETF, and the Invesco China Technology ETF advanced 7.1%, 6.3% and 4.4%, respectively.

China earlier Wednesday unveiled it targets an economic growth for 2025 at around 5%, roughly in line with the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate it estimated last year. Other key development goals for this year include a surveyed urban unemployment rate of around 5.5%, over 12 million new urban jobs, and an around 2% increase in the consumer price index, or CPI, according to a government work report Premier Li Qiang delivered at the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature.

China also set a target of around 4% for its deficit-to-GDP ratio for this year, per the government work report.  That is the highest annual budget deficit ratio for the country, representing an increase of one percentage point from 2024.

The report said China will refine and develop new structural monetary policy instruments to provide stronger support for sound development of the real estate sector and the stock market, for scientific and technological innovation, green development, the boosting of consumption, and for private businesses and micro and small enterprises. Domestic demand will be made the main engine and anchor of economic growth, the report said.

The report showed China will issue a total of RMB1.3 trillion yuan (US$182 billion) of ultra-long special treasury bonds in 2025 to support consumer goods trade-in programs, up RMB300 billion, or 30%, from last year. It will also issue RMB500 billion of special treasury bonds to support large state-owned commercial banks in replenishing capital.

The report said China will apply an appropriately accommodative monetary policy this year. It will refine and develop new structural monetary policy instruments to provide stronger support for sound development of the real estate sector and the stock market, for scientific and technological innovation, green development, the boosting of consumption, and for private businesses and micro and small enterprises.

The report highlighted high-quality development, which covers high-tech industries from renewables to artificial intelligence (AI). It stated China will accelerate the high-quality development of key industrial chains in the manufacturing sector and step up efforts to advance industrial foundation reengineering and major technology and equipment research.

On a global scale, an around 5 percent growth rate places China among the world's fastest-growing major economies, with the economic increment equating to the annual output of a mid-sized nation, the state news agency Xinhua noted.  

This year’s growth target is scientifically grounded and realistic, Xinhua cited Huang Qunhui, a national political advisor from the Institute of Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "In the face of a challenging global environment, the proactive and resilient goal suggests that China is braving uncertainties with a clear, determined approach to growth," Huang said.

The term "consumption" was mentioned 31 times in the government work report, up from 21 times last year, while "technology" received 28 mentions, slightly up from 26 in 2024, according to Guotai Junan analysts.

For the first time, boosting consumption has been elevated to the top priority among 2025's major tasks, displacing technology from its usual leading position, according to Tilly Zhang, technology analyst at Gavekal Dragonomics. Zhang believes it  means China’s in pursuit of a more balanced policy, rather than a shift from the previous industrial policy.

China for the first time set the deficit ratio at 4%, which send out multiple signals on Chinese policymakers' stepped-up efforts to navigate challenges and boost high-quality economic development, Tian Yun, an economist based in Beijing, told the state-backed newspaper Global Times. Tian noted fiscal spending will play a significantly stronger role in supporting economic growth and that the efficiency in using fiscal spending should be higher this year.