China GDP: economic growth target may return after being dropped in 2020 amid coronavirus
- China did not set a 2020 growth target after its economy shrank 6.8 per cent in the first quarter due to the impact of the coronavirus
- Premier Li Keqiang said on the final day of the National People’s Congress on Thursday that China is still eyeing a positive growth rate this year
China may resume the practice of setting annual economic growth targets after dropping the goal for 2020, a Chinese government official involved in drafting the government work report said on Friday.
Sun Guojun, a senior member at the State Council’s in-house research office, said that it is “generally better” to set an annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth target as it is a “benchmark” for many other indicators from inflation to income.
Liu Shijin, the deputy director of the economic committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the country’s top political advisory body, said that the government could instead just set targets for employment and a series of requirements for price, risk control and individual income.
