(Reuters) – China’s top leaders plan to convene a meeting as early as Wednesday to discuss measures to boost the economy and stabilise the capital markets, people with knowledge of the matter said, amid an escalating trade war with the U.S.
The meeting comes as U.S. duties on Chinese imports nearly doubled to 104% on Wednesday and is the first such publicly known high-level gathering since U.S. President Donald Trump announced “reciprocal” tariffs on China last week.
Senior officials from the State Council, several government and regulatory bodies were expected to attend the meeting, said the two sources, declining to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
The policymakers were expected to discuss measures to boost domestic consumption and support capital markets, said the sources. One of them added that initiatives such as export tax rebates were also likely to be discussed.
The State Council Information Office, which handles media queries on behalf of the Chinese government, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump’s punishing tariffs have shaken a global trading order that has persisted for decades, raising fears of recession and driving worldwide stocks sharply downward.
While Beijing announced counter-tariffs on the U.S. last week and has vowed to fight what it views as blackmail, analysts say it is feeling cornered by Trump’s tariff assault on China and any country that buys or assembles Chinese goods.
Top officials from government bodies, including the central bank People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the Ministry of Finance (MOF), were likely to attend the meeting, the sources said.
Officials from the Ministry of Commerce (MofCom) as well as banking regulator National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) and securities regulator China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) were also expected to be present, said the first source.
The PBOC, MOF, MofCom, NFRA and CSRC also did not immediately comment.
Some of the measures to stimulate the world’s second-largest economy could be implemented in the coming weeks, the second source said.
Chinese state media is expected to report part of the meeting’s agenda as authorities aim to stabilise the economy and markets as well as restoring confidence, said the sources.
The escalating trade war between China and the U.S. comes as the Chinese economy has been weighed down by a protracted property crisis and high local government debt levels, souring both business and consumer confidence.
China’s policies this year fully account for various uncertainties, China’s Premier Li Qiang said on Tuesday, adding that Beijing was “fully capable of hedging against adverse external influences”.
Chinese stocks found some footing on Wednesday as state pledges to support the local market and surging interest in domestic tech firms softened the blow to sentiment from the latest tariff move.
(Reporting by Reuters Newsroom; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Stephen Coates)
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