"Never, Ever Underestimate China" -- China in Foreign Media's 2025 Year-End Reviews

At the start of 2025, many Western headlines were ready to write China off.

Slower growth.

An aging population.

A manufacturing edge "in decline."

By year's end, that narrative no longer held.

Bloomberg put it bluntly in its year-end reflection:

"Repeat after me: Never, ever underestimate China."

So what did foreign media get wrong -- and what did they start seeing instead?

Produced by Xinhua Global Service■