After a whirlwind month, how will China’s Politburo counter Trump’s tariffs?

The meeting of the decision-making body, expected to be held at the end of April, will need to account for rapid escalation of trade conflict

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China’s Politburo, expected to meet at the end of April, typically sets the tone for the country’s economic policy. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 8:00pm, 22 Apr 2025

A meeting of China’s Politburo, expected to be held at the end of this month, is likely to step up the use of existing policy tools rather than immediately roll out a new round of fiscal stimulus in response to the intensified tariff war with the US, analysts said.

Urgent problems created in the wake of the conflict are expected to be at the top of the Politburo’s agenda, they said, alongside expectations for further monetary easing in the second quarter.

“It’s still too early to announce the kind of large-scale stimulus some in the market are hoping for … as the first-quarter data was decent, and a lot could happen in the second quarter,” said Ding Shuang, chief Greater China economist at Standard Chartered Bank.

“So the focus for the April Politburo meeting is more likely to be implementing existing stimulus measures as early and swiftly as possible.”

Spring gatherings of the 24-member Politburo – a key decision-making body of the Communist Party – typically set the tone for the country’s economic work in the second quarter.

This year, that period will take on greater importance as the world’s second-largest economy grapples with numerous external headwinds, most notably the tariff escalations US President Donald Trump unveiled throughout the month.