China Sets Economic Growth Target of 'Around 5%' for 2023, Lowest in Decades
Last Updated: March 05, 2023, 07:40 IST
China will aim to add around 12 million new urban jobs this year and bring the urban unemployment rate to around 5.5 percent. (FILE PHOTO/ REUTERS)
China posted just three percent growth last year, missing its stated target of around 5.5 percent by a wide margin
China on Sunday set an economic growth target of “around 5 percent” for 2023, one of the lowest in decades, as its annual National People’s Congress opened in Beijing.
The target was announced in a work report delivered by outgoing Premier Li Keqiang as the rubber-stamp parliament opened at the capital’s Great Hall of the People.
The figure was slightly lower than the average of forecasts of economists surveyed by AFP, who predicted a goal of around 5.3 percent.
Addressing thousands of amassed delegates, Li will say China will aim to add “around 12 million new urban jobs” this year and bring the urban unemployment rate to around 5.5 percent, according to the report released as he began speaking.
It also targets a rise in the consumer price index of around three percent.
China posted just three percent growth last year, missing its stated target of around 5.5 percent by a wide margin as the economy strained under the impact of strict Covid containment policies and a real estate crisis.
But the work report is bullish on the slowdown, saying that “under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee, we carried out Covid-19 response and pursued economic and social development in an effective and well-coordinated way”.
“Overcoming great difficulties and challenges, we succeeded in maintaining overall stable economic performance,” it added.
“Such achievements are a testament to the tremendous resilience of China’s economy.”
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)
