China's economic growth target was never set in stone: Premier Li Keqiang
Remarks ahead of key meeting to set five-year plan raise possibility of new approach by party
Beijing had never claimed it would "defend to the death any concrete" target for growth, Premier Li Keqiang said ahead of a Communist Party meeting that starts on Monday to set social and economic goals for the next five years.
The growth in China's economy was a "hard-won achievement" and showed it was capable of overcoming hurdles, Li told the Central Party School in remarks published by state media on Saturday.
Data last week showed the world's second-largest economy had grown 6.9 per cent in the third quarter of the year, falling short of the 7 per cent full-year growth target set by Beijing in March.
It was the weakest in six-and-a-half years, but above economists' forecast of 6.8 per cent.
"We have never said that we should defend to the death any concrete goal, but that the economy should operate within a reasonable range," state media paraphrased Li as telling more than 2,600 officials on Friday. "It's really not that growth has dipped below 7 per cent, rather, this was a hard-won achievement."
We have never said that we should defend to the death any concrete goal
Li's remarks come as Beijing prepares to roll out its 13th five-year plan - a Soviet-style blueprint that sets social and economic growth targets.
The remarks have raised speculation the party could be about to disembark from its traditional practice of setting concrete growth targets.
READ MORE: Rebalancing mainland China's economy is a priority
Li said turbulence in global markets, including sluggish world trade growth, together with emerging underlying contradictions domestically had had a negative impact on China's economy.
But he gave an upbeat assessment, saying that every 1 per cent of growth today was equal to 1.5per cent five years ago and 2.6per cent 10 years ago.
The nation would "pass through the traps and stick to the path of building a well-off society," Li said, adding that rapid development in the services industry, tourist consumption, and growth in employment and income had benefited the public.
Senior party figures are meeting from Monday to Thursday to set the plan.
The plan would include measures to maintain growth, boost industry and encourage innovation, said on its microblog yesterday.
The People's Bank of China on Friday announced its sixth interest rate cut since November to revive the faltering economy, lowering one-year rates by 25 basis points.
READ MORE: China’s economy grows at slowest pace in over six years
A policy adviser involved in drawing up the five-year plan said stimulating consumption was likely to feature strongly.
Chang Xiuze, at the Macroeconomic Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission, said China's household consumption rate of 37 per cent was "very low" compared to 50 to 60 per cent in other countries.
He has proposed the central leadership target a rate of more than 43 per cent by 2020.
This would add about 600 billion yuan (HK$730 billion) to the economy every year, he said. He has also proposed boosting domestic consumption to about 56per cent by 2020 - up from 51.2per cent in 2014.
Chang said increasing employment in services should also be a focus as the government tried to rebalance the economy. Services accounted for 38.5 per cent of employment in China in 2013 - compared to 81.2 per cent in the United States in 2010.
"It's clear that the two countries are at different stages of development, but our rate should not be less than half of theirs," said Chang.
