China’s Bullish 5% Growth Goal Seen as ‘Target Without a Plan’
- Government work report lacks specifics on property, deflation
- Economists say more emphasis needed on boosting consumption
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China set a bullish target of around 5% growth this year as top leaders try to boost confidence in the world’s second-largest economy. But for some analysts, Premier Li Qiang’s lack of details on how to get there was out of step with the nation’s deep challenges.
The country’s No. 2 official announced China would maintain last year’s growth goal as the annual parliamentary session opened on Tuesday. That was a clear signal Beijing wants to put a floor under the economy’s slowdown, marking only the second year in a decade that Beijing didn’t lower its main economic target. The last time was 2018, when dealing with the start of a US trade war.