BEIJING: The Chinese government urged local officials to provide more financial relief or step up one-time allowances to people in need ahead of major holidays over the next month, as China’s economic difficulties are set to extend into 2025. China’s economy has struggled to gather steam this year, mainly due to a protracted property crisis and weak domestic demand. Securing employment, particularly for fresh college graduates, is also a policy priority, authorities say.

Ahead of New Year’s Day and the Lunar New Year in late January, local governments with financial capacity are encouraged to distribute relief funds or step up one-time allowances to those in need, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said in a statement published on Saturday. The ministry issued a similar call in late September ahead of a major holiday for one-off assistance to the extremely poor, orphans and those in difficulty.

According to the ministry’s weekend statement, assistance to certain groups, such as unemployed people who have not been paid unemployment insurance and those without a source of income, must be strengthened. Jobless college graduates, the ill and families facing financial difficulties should also receive help, it added. According to official data, China’s unemployment insurance system paid out 160.07 billion yuan ($21.93 billion) from January to November, up 25.5 percent year on year.

The ministry also urged local governments to better monitor low-income groups.

The World Bank, in a report last Thursday, said the pace of China’s poverty reduction slowed in 2024 and is expected to decelerate further in 2025 and 2026, due largely to slower economic growth projected in years to come. Tepid household consumption, the main drag on the economy, is the key to next year’s growth recovery, analysts say. Policymakers have vowed to revive household demand.

China stocks ended slightly higher on Monday, buoyed by gains in energy and financial shares, while smaller stocks weighed on overall performance. Hong Kong shares were down. For 2024, onshore shares are set to log gains for the first time after three years of losses as multiple policy stimulus measures since September lifted market sentiment.

• China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index closed up 0.5 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.2 percent. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng was down 0.2 percent.

• Energy shares traded onshore were up 1.3 percent, leading gains in the onshore market, while financial stocks were up 1.2 percent.

• Small-cap stocks traded on the Beijing Stock Exchange slumped 4.4 percent, dragging on onshore performance.

• The market is expected to remain active in the first half of January but external disturbances are likely to increase in the latter half, leading to a cooling of market sentiment, said a strategist at Citic Securities.

• “Policy expectations are anticipated to heat up again after the Lunar New Year,” he said.

• Trading volumes have declined since an October spike that was triggered by a slew of stimulus measures.

• China’s finance ministry said in a statement on Monday that the proportion of new energy vehicles procured each year as government vehicles should not be less than 30 percent of the total and 100 percent in urban areas to “to support and promote” their use.

• The CSI Auto Index added 0.6 percent but Chinese electric vehicle giants traded in Hong Kong dropped, with Xpeng HK down 5.8 percent.

• China’s central bank governor was quoted as saying by state media on Sunday that the weighted average reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for banks stands at around 6.6 percent after the RRR cut, and this level still leaves “some room” when compared to the central banks of major global economies. — Reuters