China abandons economic growth target for first time in decades

Linda J. Dodson

SHANGHAI — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang did not announce an economic growth target for this year, marking the first time in three decades the government has skipped setting that goal in its annual blueprint.

In a work report presented on Friday in Beijing at the delayed start of the annual session of the National People’s Congress, China’s legislature, Li said the government foresees its budget deficit rising to more than 3.6% of gross domestic product, up from 2.8% last year.

“We have not set a specific target for economic growth this year because our country will face some factors that are difficult to predict in its development due to the great uncertainty regarding the COVID-19 pandemic,” Li told nearly 3,000 delegates including President Xi Jinping.

Li said authorities plan to issue up to 4.75 trillion yuan ($668.17 billion) in bonds to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and sustain economic development and social stability as the country works to recover from weeks of lockdown earlier this year.

China usually discloses its annual economic growth target in the premier’s work report. The abandonment of the annual growth target seems to confirm the leadership’s recognition that it may not be able to achieve a long-standing target of having doubled real GDP between 2010 and 2020.

State media however said Friday that official long-term development goals for this year remain intact. Before the pandemic, China appeared to have a significant chance of reaching the GDP milestone. 


National People’s Congress delegates listen to Premier Li Keqiang’s opening address in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. 

  © Reuters

China’s economic slowdown accelerated over the past two years amid the trade war with the U.S. then turned into actual contraction in the first quarter due to the COVID-19 lockdown; for the period, economic output shrunk 6.8% from a year before. 

Some economists have predicted output growth could be negative for the year as a whole. Recovery has been slowed as the spreading pandemic has depressed overseas demand for many Chinese exports and disrupted commercial transport links. 

This year’s NPC session was originally scheduled to begin March 5 but was postponed because of the pandemic. Delegates will deliberate over the next seven days on items such as the national budget, economic stimulus measures, a new civil code, a national security law for Hong Kong and the country’s first comprehensive laws governing privacy protection, divorce and sexual harassment. 

These meetings are largely choreographed and China’s rubber-stamp legislature rarely rejects bills. They do, however, offer a glimpse into Beijing’s authoritarian rule.

Source Article

Next Post

Philippines eyes tax on Netflix to boost revenue amid pandemic

MANILA — Lockdowns imposed to fight the spread of coronavirus have sent local revenues tumbling but online services surging, prompting a Philippine lawmaker to compel tech giants “to pay their fair share.” Congressman Joey Salceda said this week he filed House Bill No. 6765, which seeks to plug the value […]