International Monetary Fund (IMF) Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas (C) and IMF Research Department Deputy Director Petya Koeva Brooks (R) take questions as they speak on the “World Economic Outlook” during the IMF/World Bank Group Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, on April 22, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AFP

The IMF said Tuesday it now believed China’s economy will only grow by four percent this year, well below Beijing’s official target as it fights a mounting trade war with the United States.

China and the United States – the world’s two largest economies – are engaged in a mounting tit-for-tat trade row that has sparked global recession fears and rattled markets.

China faces tariffs of up to 145% on many products, with others receiving even higher levies. Beijing has responded with duties of 125% on US goods.

Also read | China retaliates with 125% tariffs against U.S. imports

Also contributing to downward pressure on growth in the Chinese economy are a persistent crisis in the property sector, local government debt and sluggish consumer spending.

In view of an increasingly uncertain landscape in which “downside risks dominate”, the International Monetary Fund said, the Chinese economy is expected to grow four percent this year.

The figure, which was published Tuesday in the fund’s latest World Economic Outlook report, is slower than the 4.6% expansion it predicted for China in January.

The forecast sits a full percentage point lower than Beijing’s official 2025 growth goal of around five percent – the same as last year and a figure considered ambitious by many economists given the headwinds with which China is grappling.

Growth next year is also now forecast by the IMF to be four percent, down from the previous projection of 4.5%.

The cuts reflect doubts about the ability of the world’s second-largest economy to hold up against mounting domestic pressures and heightened hurdles for exports from the manufacturing powerhouse.

“For China, the prolonged weakness in the real estate sector and its ramifications, including those for local government finances, have been key,” said the IMF.

The report noted that consumer confidence in the country has not recovered since plunging in early 2022, adding that China is among the tariff recipients most heavily affected by U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent trade blitz.

Laurens Van Den Acker, Chief Design Officer, Renault Group and M. Venkatram, Country CEO and MD, Renault India at the unveiling of a sculpture designed by the Renault design team at the Renault Nissan Technology & Business Centre at Mahindra City, near Chennai.
| Photo Credit: BIJOY GHOSH

A sculpture designed by the team of Renault design Centre, showcased at the Renault Nissan Technology & Business centre at Mahindra City, near Chennai.
| Photo Credit:
BIJOY GHOSH

Renault India, a fully owned subsidiary of Renault Group, unveiled its new India-centric transformation strategy – renault. rethink with the inauguration of the Renault Design Centre Chennai.

The new centre, inaugurated on Tuesday, will play a significant role in enabling this transformation and accelerating Renault’s ambition to “design in India” following its strong “make in India” foundation, the French car maker said.

 It is also expected to function as a hub of excellence, particularly due to its proximity to RNTBCI (Renault Nissan Technology & Business Centre India), it added.

“India is highly unique and locally driven. Having a dedicated design studio is essential to understanding its nuances, listening to its needs, and building from its strengths. The Renault Design Centre Chennai will focus on developing models and concepts tailored to the Indian market while contributing to Renault Group’s global projects,” Laurens van den Acker, Chief Design Officer, Renault Group said.

“By leveraging local talents and insights, this centre will play a key role in shaping Renault’s future mobility solutions. Its strategic location – at the heart of RNTBCI’s excellence hub – also enables closer collaboration across functions and faster integration of design into our engineering and innovation processes,” he added.

The company said the renault. rethink strategy represents its renewed and bold commitment to orchestrate and propel it’s new journey in India. 

“The opening of new design centre in Chennai will play a crucial role in the deployment of the Renault International Game Plan 2027. Our commitment is to redefine our brand, product positioning, and customer experience to meet the evolving needs of our customers in the country, hence we recently witnessed the global debut of new ‘R store’ in Chennai, India,” Venkatram Mamillapalle, Country CEO and Managing Director, Renault India Operations said.

The carmaker has targets to achieve up to 90% localisation in India. Recently it had announcement the 100% takeover of the alliance’s manufacturing plant in Chennai.