China has set a GDP growth target of around 5% for this year as it grapples with a trade war with the US.<\/p>\n
At Wednesday’s opening of the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, Premier Li Qiang said all parties must work hard to achieve the “very challenging” target given the “increasingly complex” external environment.<\/p>\n
Here are the highlights of the meeting:<\/p>\n
Fiscal spending expansion<\/strong><\/p>\n China will issue a total of 1.3 trillion yuan (about US$182 billion) of private treasury bills this year, up 300 billion yuan from last year, to stimulate the economy, according to a government work report submitted to the top legislature for discussion on Wednesday.<\/p>\n China has set the budget deficit to GDP ratio for this year at about 4%, up one percentage point from last year.<\/p>\n Foreign investment is encouraged<\/strong><\/p>\n Li said that no matter how the external environment changes, China will persistently adhere to the policy of opening up, which will lead to more reform and development opportunities.<\/p>\n The Internet and cultural sectors will be opened up in an orderly manner, and access to telecommunications, healthcare, and education sectors will be expanded, he added.<\/p>\n According to Li, Beijing will encourage foreign investors to expand their investment in China and cooperate with companies up and down the industrial supply chain.<\/p>\n Private enterprises<\/strong><\/p>\n Li pledged to better support the private economy and boost business confidence.<\/p>\n He said Beijing will strengthen legal protections and policy support for private enterprises and safeguard their legitimate rights.<\/p>\n It also pledged to crack down on profit-seeking law enforcement against private companies. He said China would build a “unified market” and fight competition.<\/p>\n Industries of the future<\/strong><\/p>\n Li said China will unleash the creativity of the high-tech sector and boost artificial intelligence, smart terminals, and the Internet of Things, while 5G technology will be applied on a large scale.<\/p>\n He said Beijing will set up a mechanism for “industries of the future” to support high-tech fields such as biomaterials manufacturing, quantum technology, embodied intelligence, and 6G.<\/p>\n New role for Hong Kong and Macau<\/strong><\/p>\n Li said Beijing will uphold the “one country, two systems” concept and support Hong Kong and Macau to develop their economies.<\/p>\n Li also said Beijing will support Hong Kong and Macau in deepening international exchanges and cooperation. This is a new addition to the work report this year, signaling a new role for the cities in preparing for external headwinds.<\/p>\n He added that Beijing would support integration with the mainland to sustain long-term prosperity while allowing patriots in Hong Kong and Macau to govern themselves.<\/p>\n The Premier emphasized the role of the Greater Bay Area, calling for leveraging regional development strategies to promote drivers of growth.<\/p>\n He urged all regions to build on their strengths and deepen industrial cooperation, while calling on economically strong states to take the lead.<\/p>\n Military spending unchanged<\/strong><\/p>\n China’s top leadership has announced plans to increase military spending by 7.2% to about 1.784 trillion yuan (US$245 billion) in 2025.<\/p>\n This is the same percentage increase as last year and the year before, continuing a decades-long expansion in China’s military spending.<\/p>\n Over the past two years, the People’s Liberation Army has stepped up patrols near Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing has vowed to bring under mainland control by force if necessary.<\/p>\n Employment and consumption<\/strong><\/p>\n Li acknowledged that consumption was particularly “sluggish” and noted that there were “pressures on job creation and income growth.” He pledged to “vigorously boost” household demand.<\/p>\n China will create more than 12 million new urban jobs to stabilize employment. Li pledged to provide targeted assistance to recent graduates, migrant workers, and those most in need.<\/p>\n He said the government would also take measures to stabilize the property market and the stock market.<\/p>\n Citizens and international friends<\/strong><\/p>\n Li expressed his “heartfelt gratitude” to the people in Hong Kong and Macau, as well as compatriots in Taiwan and international friends.<\/p>\n He noted that the difficult geopolitical situation will affect China’s trade.<\/p>\n Li said the world is going through accelerated changes that have not been seen in a century.<\/p>\n The external environment is becoming increasingly complex and will potentially have a greater impact on the country’s trade, technology, and other sectors, he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" China has set a GDP growth target of around 5% for this year as it grapples with a trade war with the US. At Wednesday’s opening of the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, Premier Li Qiang said all parties must work hard to achieve the “very challenging” target given the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8233,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7605,529,7601,7603,7600,7598,1452,6964,7602,7604,1971,7599,1831,4342,6701,1824,6697,2087,787,821],"class_list":["post-8232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia","tag-5g","tag-china","tag-consumption","tag-economic-strategy","tag-employment","tag-fiscal-spending","tag-foreign-investment","tag-gdp-growth","tag-geopolitical-situation","tag-greater-bay-area","tag-hong-kong","tag-industries-of-the-future","tag-li-qiang","tag-macau","tag-military-spending","tag-national-peoples-congress","tag-private-enterprises","tag-technology","tag-trade-war","tag-us"],"yoast_head":"\n