China confident of hitting 2023 economic growth target -state planner

People shop ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year at an outdoor market in Beijing, China Jan 13, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File photo

BEIJING  -China is confident of achieving its 2023 economic growth target as the economy picks up, the vice head of the state economic planner said on Monday, after China set a modest growth target of around 5 percent for this year.

Domestic stock indexes opened subdued on Monday after the world’s second-biggest economy did not set itself a more ambitious growth target this year as it kicked off the annual session of its National People’s Congress.

Thanks to changes in COVID-19 prevention and control policies, the recovery in mobility for people and goods is speeding up, Zhao Chenxin, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), told a news conference on Monday.

“China’s economy is steadily improving,” Zhao said, adding they are “full of confidence” in achieving the 2023 economic growth target.

“The around 5 percent target is in line with current economic momentum… and it will help guide all parties to focus on improving the quality and efficiency of economic development.”

The government will also tackle risks related to property, finance and local government debt in an appropriate manner, Zhao said.

China’s economy staged one of its weakest performances in decades last year, when gross domestic product (GDP) grew by just 3 percent, squeezed by stringent COVID controls, a crisis in the property sector and a crackdown on private enterprise.

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