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China’s GDP grew 5 per cent last year despite US President Donald Trump’s tariff war, as booming exports offset more anaemic growth in the domestic economy.

The full-year figure, which was in line with Beijing’s official target and the average of a survey of analysts by Bloomberg, came as GDP growth decelerated in the fourth quarter to 4.5 per cent.

The fourth quarter figure was in line with analyst forecasts but down from 4.8 per cent in the third quarter.

The slowdown in the second half of the year will put pressure on Beijing to add more stimulus this year to meet an expected target of between 4.5 per cent and 5 per cent for 2026 GDP growth.

President Xi Jinping is due to preside over the annual meeting of China’s rubber-stamp parliament, the National People’s Congress, in early March, at which Premier Li Qiang will unveil the economic targets for the coming year.

This year also marks the start of China’s next five-year plan, with economists expecting Beijing and local governments to make a determined effort to get growth off to a strong start with stimulus programmes.

With additional contributions from Wenjie Ding in Beijing