China set its 2024 economic growth target at around 5%, but its premier admitted that the target would be tough to achieve.
China set its 2024 economic growth target at around 5%, a goal that was largely in line with expectations. But its premier admitted that the target would be tough to achieve as the economy grapples with deflationary pressure and a full-blown crisis in the property sector.
Li Qiang, the country’s premier and President Xi Jinping’s right-hand man, announced the growth target on the first day of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s annual parliamentary gathering that will run from March 5 to March 11. He acknowledged that the economy isn’t entirely on stable footing.
“It is not easy for us to realize these targets,” Li said in his maiden government work report, a tradition at each year’s NPC, in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. “We need policy support and joint efforts from all fronts.”
In a break from at least 30 years of tradition, government spokesperson Lou Qinjian announced Monday that Li won’t hold a press conference during the parliamentary meetings this year or through 2027.
