Saturday, March 4, 2023

China Sets Lowest Economic Growth Target Of 5% For 2023 As Parliament Kicks Off

<p><strong>New Delhi:</strong> Kicking off its annual parliamentary session, China's National People&rsquo;s Congress (NPC) on Sunday announced a modest target for economic growth of about 5 percent this year, Reuters reported.</p> <p>The session, which started on Sunday in Beijing, is also expected to give President Xi Jinping a third term and carry out the biggest government shake-up in a decade.</p> <p>China's GDP increased by barely 3% last year, one of the worst results in decades, due to three years of <a title="COVID-19" href="https://ift.tt/zOM1b0y" data-type="interlinkingkeywords">COVID-19</a> restrictions, a crisis in its real estate sector, a crackdown on private industry, and a decline in global demand for Chinese exports.</p> <p>Outgoing Premier Li Keqiang, in his work report, said that it was important to prioritise economic stability and set a goal to create around 12 million urban jobs this year, up from last year's target of at least 11 million, according to Reuters.</p> <p>Li set a budget deficit target of 3.0% of GDP, widening from a goal of around 2.8% last year.</p> <p class="text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__full_width__ekUdw body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI" data-testid="paragraph-4">"We should give priority to the recovery and expansion of consumption," said Li, who spoke for just under an hour in a speech to open the parliament, which will run through March 13.</p> <div class="spacing-container__container__2g5QT spacing-container__t-spacing-single__1uXb9 spacing-container__b-spacing-single__2RCDp spacing-container__max-width__zScFd" data-testid="Latest Updates" data-variant-id="article-latest-updates"> <div class="desktop-latest-updates__container__3z03m"> <p class="text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__full_width__ekUdw body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI" data-testid="paragraph-5">"The incomes of urban and rural residents should be boosted through multiple channels. We should stabilize spending on big-ticket items and promote recovery in consumption of consumer services," he added.</p> <p class="text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__full_width__ekUdw body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI" data-testid="paragraph-5">The 5% GDP target for this year was at the low end of forecasts, as policymakers recently told Reuters that a range as high as 6% may be established. It is also lower than the 5.5% aim set last year.</p> <p class="text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__full_width__ekUdw body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI" data-testid="paragraph-7">"While the official growth target has been lowered for the second consecutive year, which might be a disappointment to the market, we reckon investors (should) pay attention to the underlying growth momentum to gauge the recovery pace," Reuters quoted Zhou Hao, an economist at Guotai Junan International, as saying.</p> <p class="text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__full_width__ekUdw body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI" data-testid="paragraph-7"><em><strong>(With inputs from Reuters)</strong></em></p> </div> </div>

source https://news.abplive.com/news/world/china-sets-economic-growth-target-of-around-5-percent-for-2023-as-parliament-kicks-off-1586243

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