China sets growth target of around 5% at Parliament opening

By: News Team

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China sets growth target of around 5% at Parliament opening

China set a modest economic growth target for this year at around 5 percent, according to a government work report released on Sunday at the start of the annual parliamentary session of the National People’s Congress (NPC).

In the report, outgoing Premier Li Keqiang said it was essential to prioritize economic stability, setting a goal of creating some 12 million urban jobs this year, up from last year’s target of at least 11 million.

China’s gross domestic product grew just 3% last year, one of its worst results in decades, weighed down by three years of COVID-19 restrictions, a crisis in its vast real estate sector, a crackdown on private enterprise and weakening demand for Chinese exports.

This year’s target, at around 5%, is at the lower end of expectations. Political sources had recently told Reuters that a range of up to 6% could be set.

This year’s parliamentary session will kick in the biggest government overhaul in a decade, as Beijing grapples with a series of challenges and tries to revive its battered economy.

Li and a group of more reform-oriented economic policy officials will retire during the congress, making way for those loyal to President Xi Jinping, who further tightened his grip on power when he secured an unprecedented third leadership term at October’s Communist Party Congress.

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