By Ellen Zhang and Kevin Yao

BEIJING (Reuters) -China pledged on Thursday to increase the budget deficit, issue more debt and loosen monetary policy to maintain a stable economic growth rate as it gears up for more trade tensions with the United States as Donald Trump returns to the White House.

The remarks came in a state media readout of an annual agenda-setting meeting of the country's top leaders, known as the Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC), which was held on Dec. 11-12.

"The adverse impact brought by changes in the external environment has deepened," national broadcaster CCTV said following the closed-door CEWC.

This year's meeting comes as the world's second-largest economy is stuttering due to a severe property market crisis, high local government debt and weak domestic demand. Its exports, one of the few bright spots, are facing the threat of higher U.S. tariffs.

The CEWC pledges match the tone of one of the Communist Party leaders' most dovish statements in more than a decade, which was released on Monday after a meeting of the Politburo, a top decision-making body.

The Politburo said China would switch to an "appropriately loose" monetary policy stance, "more proactive" fiscal levers, and step up "unconventional counter-cyclical adjustments."

In the same vein, the CEWC summary flagged a higher budget deficit and more debt issuance at a central and local government level. Leaders also vowed to reduce bank reserve requirements and cut interest rates "in a timely manner".

"The direction is clear, but the size of stimulus matters, which we probably will find out only after the U.S. announces the tariffs," Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, said.

This dovish shift in messaging shows China is willing to go even deeper into debt, prioritising, at least in the near term, growth over financial risks, analysts said.

At CEWC, Beijing sets targets for economic growth, the budget deficit, debt issuance and other variables for the year ahead. The targets are agreed at the meeting, but won't be officially released until an annual parliament meeting in March.

Reuters reported last month that government advisers recommended that Beijing keep its growth target of around 5% unchanged next year.

The CEWC readout said it was "necessary to maintain steady economic growth," but did not mention a specific number.

"Maintaining 5% will be quite challenging in 2025, given that the extra 'Trump shock' will hit exports" and capital expenditure, Xu Tianchen, senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said.