China started 2025 with deflation, a property crisis and fears of a “lost decade” damping sentiment. By year’s end, it had stunned the world with an AI breakthrough, a trillion-dollar trade surplus and rare earth dominance.

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks with Bloomberg Executive Editor John Liu and Bloomberg Opinion’s Shuli Ren about how China navigated Trump’s tariff war, revived investor confidence and what risks could derail its momentum in 2026.

Read more: Repeat After Me: Never, Ever Underestimate China
Xi’s Triumphant Year Staring Down Trump Belies Woes in China



Hosted by: K. Oanh Ha; Produced by: Naomi Ng and Yang Yang; Reported by: Shuli Ren and John Liu; Edited by: Paddy Hirsch; Fact-checking by: Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Engineering by: Katie McMurran.

Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin. Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

China started 2025 with deflation, a property crisis and fears of a &ldquo;lost decade&rdquo; damping sentiment. By year&rsquo;s end, it had stunned the world with an AI breakthrough, a trillion-dollar trade surplus and rare earth dominance.
On today&rsquo;s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks with Bloomberg Executive Editor John Liu and Bloomberg Opinion&rsquo;s Shuli Ren about how China navigated Trump&rsquo;s tariff war, revived investor confidence and what risks could derail its momentum in 2026.
Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-12-23/repeat-after-me-never-ever-underestimate-china">Repeat After Me: Never, Ever Underestimate China </a><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-28/xi-s-triumphant-year-staring-down-trump-belies-troubles-in-china?srnd=homepage-americas">Xi&rsquo;s Triumphant Year Staring Down Trump Belies Woes in China</a> 
Hosted by: K. Oanh Ha; Produced by: Naomi Ng and Yang Yang; Reported by: Shuli Ren and John Liu; Edited by: Paddy Hirsch; Fact-checking by: Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Engineering by: Katie McMurran.
Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin. Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

The Big Take from Bloomberg News brings you inside what’s shaping the world's economies with the smartest and most informed business reporters around the world. The context you need on the stories that can move markets. Every afternoon.

The Big Take from Bloomberg News brings you inside what’s shaping the world's economies with the smartest and most informed business reporters around the world. The context you need on the stories that can move markets. Every afternoon.

Big Take

How China Defied the Odds in 2025

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/21c1c58a-fe0d-443c-b7d8-b3c3013a9faa/transcript