Shuli Ren, Columnist

China’s 5% GDP Target Signals Crackdowns Are Not Over

The modest growth goal and a regulatory overhang may deter some investors from returning any time soon.

March 5, 2023 at 4:37 AM UTC

Shuli Ren is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asian markets. A former investment banker, she was a markets reporter for Barron’s. She is a CFA charterholder.

Modest target.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

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President Xi Jinping is putting on a show for the world. After Beijing staged an abrupt exit from Covid Zero three months ago, the hope was that a strong economic rebound in China would lift demand for everything, from oil and iron ore to international tourism.

Global investors might just be disappointed. The government’s gross domestic product target for 2023, revealed at the annual session of the National People’s Congress Sunday, came in at just around 5%, the lowest in history.