Key takeaways from Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s opening speech for the National People’s Congress 2018
From tax cuts for all to massive spending on roads and railways, Li lays out the government’s road map for the year ahead
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang hailed China’s progress over the past five years and laid out plans for the year ahead as he delivered his annual government work report on Monday morning at a ceremonial gathering to mark the start of the National People’s Congress in Beijing.
Covering all aspects of the country’s economic and social development, the 36-page report took Li nearly two hours to read out, though did not touch on either of this year’s hottest topics: the planned changes to the constitution and the leadership reshuffle.
Here are the main points of the premier’s speech:
Achieve steady growth, reduce risk
China has set a growth target of “about 6.5 per cent” for 2018, down from the better-than-expected 6.9 per cent achieved in 2017, indicating Beijing’s tolerance for a more moderate rate of expansion.
Li said the country had negated downward pressures and put fears of an economic hard landing behind it. He also referenced the urban surveyed jobless rate, which includes migrant workers, suggesting Beijing is ready to accept a truer picture of employment levels.