Expanding demand; Real Estate; US-China drug co-op; Panama Ports deal at risk; MetaX 沐曦 IPO; EU pork tariffs

Summary of today’s top items:

1. More on expanding domestic demand - According to an article in the latest issue of Qiushi by the Party Leadership Group of the NDRC, China’s household consumption rate stood at 39.9% in 2024, trailing developed countries by 10 to 30 percentage points, with service consumption remaining particularly low. Meanwhile, private investment has declined for two consecutive years, dropping to less than 50% of total fixed asset investment. I have posted a full translation here.

Xinhua published a Q&A in which a “Responsible Comrade from the Office of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission Explains the Spirit of the 2025 Central Economic Work Conference in Detail”. I have posted a full translation here. This comrade discusses the key tasks from the Central Economic Work Conference, including the first one - “persist in domestic demand as the driver and build a strong domestic market.” He/she tells Xinhua that “we believe that through the linkage of…