China’s Premier Li Qiang speaks during the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 16, 2024.
Denis Balibouse | Reuters
BEIJING — China set a growth target of “around 5%” for 2024, according to the “Government Work Report” released Tuesday.
The targets for GDP and other economic indicators were published as part of the opening of the National People’s Congress annual meeting.
Last year China’s economy grew by 5.2%, matching the official target of around 5%. The overall rebound from the pandemic was slower than many expected, while growth also faced drags from a slump in real estate and exports.
The target for this year largely matches expectations as economists also expected the government to modestly increase the official fiscal deficit to above 3%. Investors will also watch the work report and government commentary for any clues on policy support for property and other parts of the economy.
For 2023, China set a goal of 3% for the consumer price index, and a 5.5% unemployment rate for people in cities — with the creation of around 12 million new urban jobs.
The National Bureau of Statistics said the country averaged a 5.2% unemployment rate in cities and created 12.44 million jobs last year.
However, the consumer price index rose by 0.2% amid lackluster demand.
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