SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit the financial hub of Shanghai this week, said two people familiar with planning the visit to China’s vital economic region at a time when the trade war with the U.S. has raised the stakes for growth.
In his last trip to Shanghai in November 2023, Xi used the visit to urge the city to build on its strengths as an international financial centre and take a lead in technology.
At the time he also met with provinces representing an economic bloc China has dubbed the Yangtze River Economic Belt.
The area comprises Shanghai and 10 other provinces and cities along the Yangtze River and is a key export hub which accounts for about more than 40% of China’s gross domestic product.
In 2023, Xi urged officials from the region to push to drive industrial breakthroughs and innovation.
The State Council Information Office, which handles media queries for the Chinese government, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The trade war between the U.S. and China, the world’s two largest economies, has raised fears of a global economic slowdown.
Even though China’s economy depends on exports to sustain manufacturing, officials have signalled they believe the world’s second-largest economy can handle the hit and signalled they stand ready to help as needed with more policy support.
Zhao Chenxin, the vice chair of the National Development and Reform Commission, said in a news conference on Monday that Beijing remained “fully confident” China would hit its economic growth target of around 5% for 2025.
The Trump administration has signalled an openness to de-escalating the trade war. U.S. President Donald Trump has said that talks on tariffs were taking place with China and that he and Xi have spoken, but Beijing denied any trade talks occurred.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday did not back Trump’s assertion that tariff talks with China were under way and said he did not know if Trump had talked to Xi.
(Reporting by Shanghai and Beijing newsrooms; Editing by Kim Coghill and Michael Perry)
