China’s Politburo signals fresh macro support while tightening the reins on unfair competition

The meeting, chaired by President Xi Jinping, acknowledged the drag from a protracted property slump, flagging consumption and weak private investment. Officials said credit and social-financing volumes would be guided higher and that “counter-cyclical” fiscal tools—larger bond quotas for infrastructure and more targeted tax relief - would be deployed in the second half. By overtly linking monetary easing to fiscal fire-power, Beijing appears to be preparing another coordinated stimulus round reminiscent of late 2022, but this time with an explicit goal of “achieving reasonable growth” rather than an aggressive rebound.

Yet the growth pledge came with sharper language on market behaviour. The Politburo said it would “rectify and regulate” cut-throat discounting, subsidies and below-cost pricing that have proliferated in sectors from ride-hailing to battery manufacturing. The statement singled out anecdotal losses at e-commerce and EV start-ups as evidence that unfettered competition can erode innovation incentives and financial health. For investors this underscores a pattern: each supportive policy turn is now paired with governance moves intended to shape industry structure, echoing 2021’s internet-platform crackdown but applied more selectively.

Another key read-through was housing. While stopping short of sweeping bail-outs, leaders said they would “safeguard delivery of pre-sold homes,” enlarge affordable-rental pilots and encourage financial institutions to accommodate viable developers. Combined with recent city-level relaxations of mortgage rules, the wording suggests Beijing is still looking for a floor under real-estate without re-inflating prices. Investors should therefore expect incremental provincial programmes - land-bank swaps, bond swaps for unfinished projects - rather than a single massive rescue.

In sum, Beijing is trying to strike a balance: bigger macro support to keep 2025 growth near its 5 percent target, but firmer micro-level discipline to push companies towards profitability and advanced-manufacturing goals. Portfolio managers gauging opportunities in China’s onshore equities or credit should therefore parse stimulus headlines alongside evolving sector-specific guidance - particularly in consumer tech, EV supply chains and property services - where the new definition of “orderly competition” will decide winners and losers.