BEIJING, March 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from Beijing Review:
China has set its GDP growth target at around 5 percent for this year. The target was revealed in the government work report delivered to the First Session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, on March 5.
"The growth target is achievable in light of China's average annual GDP growth rate of 6.2 percent in the past 10 years. Also, as the country has adjusted pandemic control measures, its economic vitality will be unleashed and the economy will see a recovery," Jin Li, Vice President of the Southern University of Science and Technology and a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the top political advisory body, said.
The NPC and CPPCC National Committee full sessions, China's major annual political events, ran from March 4 to 13 this year.
In January, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its forecast for China's economic growth to 5.2 percent in 2023, up 0.8 percentage points from its projection in October last year, as it said the country's reopening has paved the way for a faster-than-expected recovery. Pent-up demand could also fuel a stronger rebound in China, the IMF said in its World Economic Outlook report released in January.
China's economic rebound is having a significant positive spillover effect on the regional growth of Asia, Krishna Srinivasan, Director of the Asia and Pacific Department of the IMF, said.
Srinivasan further said during the International Finance Forum One-on-One Global Dialogue on March 3 that a 1-percentage-point increase in China's growth leads to a 0.3-percent growth in output level across Asia.
A pickup in China's tourism has "had a huge impact" on countries like Thailand and Viet Nam, he said, adding that recovering consumption in China will boost the exports of its trading partners in the region.
Xulio Rios, a Spanish author and adviser emeritus of the Chinese Policy Observatory website, told Beijing Review that the 5-percent growth target is pragmatic but not easy to achieve. China still needs to confront a complicated international situation, the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as challenges in its transition to a new growth model. In spite of many uncertainties, the Chinese economy has shown great resilience and its sound growth is important for the global economy to return to normal in the post-pandemic era.
This year, China aims to create around 12 million new urban jobs, with a surveyed urban unemployment rate of around 5.5 percent, according to the government work report. Other annual objectives include keeping the consumer price index increase at around 3 percent and grain output above 650 million tons.
The government work report unveiled a raft of measures to shore up growth, including a projected deficit-to-GDP ratio of 3 percent, 0.2 percentage points higher than the level last year, and 3.8 trillion yuan ($545.7 billion) of special-purpose bonds to be allocated to local governments.
To expand domestic demand, the government will prioritize the recovery and expansion of consumption, and work to improve the incomes of urban and rural residents, the report added.
China's final consumption expenditure contributed more than 50 percent to domestic economic growth in 2022, which is low compared with developed countries.
Yu Miaojie, President of Liaoning University and a deputy to the 14th NPC, suggested the government step up policies to support the real economy, narrow the urban-rural gap in infrastructure, and increase tax and fee cuts to expand domestic demand. He also said manufacturers should be encouraged to move up to the higher ends of industrial chains.
"The government should boost the consumption of big-ticket items like cars and home appliances, improve logistics services in rural areas, and support the tourism industry as people's desire to travel returns," he said.
Yu called for greater support for private businesses, ensuring their access to production inputs at the same prices as state-owned enterprises. "Some private firms still face difficulties in financing and land use," he said.
The report said China will intensify efforts to attract and utilize foreign investment and continue to open up the modern services sector.
"The opening up of fields including banking, insurance and securities is widening. The government needs to improve the business environment and shorten negative lists defining industries in which foreign companies cannot invest," Yu said.
"Some foreign-funded enterprises are moving out of China, but this is not becoming a trend. China remains attractive to many foreign enterprises and foreign direct investment is improving," he said.
SOURCE Beijing Review
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