Workers weld at the workshop of an automobile manufacturer in Qingzhou, Shandong province, eastern China, on March 1, 2022.
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BEIJING – China has announced a gross domestic product growth target of “about 5.5%” for 2022, as the annual parliament meeting gets underway.
Premier Li Keqiang revealed the figure in a speech on Saturday morning local time. It is not uncommon for the official GDP target to be approximate.
The other economic targets Li has announced, on employment and inflation, are the same as last year.
However, he said the deficit-to-GDP ratio would be 2.8% this year, lower than last year’s 3.2%. He expects fiscal revenue to grow in 2022 and that the government can use profits from state-owned enterprises, allowing spending to increase by more than 2 trillion yuan ($316.5 billion) by 2022. compared to 2021.
Total central government spending on the public budget is expected to grow 14.3% to 13.40 trillion yuan this year, China’s finance ministry said in a separate report released today. Saturday on the national budget of the year. That includes a plan to increase defense spending by 7.1%.
According to Li, China will target the unemployment rate in cities “no more than 5.5%” and the consumer price index “about 3%”. He added that the country plans to add “more than 11 million new urban jobs” – the same number as last year.
“A comprehensive analysis of development dynamics at home and abroad indicates that this year our country will face more risks and challenges, and we must continue to work to overcome it,” he said. them,” he said, according to an official version of his English version. “The harder things are, the more confident we have to be and the more solid steps we have to take to deliver results.”
Li’s closing remarks included a statement on how China would “set the stage” for the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. That meeting, scheduled for the fall, is set to give the President Xi Jinping an unprecedented third term.
Stimulation plan
Economists expect the GDP target to be set at around 5% or slightly higher. They want detailed information on stimulus plans for an economy that has slowed significantly.
A GDP growth target of “about 5.5%” was set based on the highs of those expectations. In a separate report on Saturday, the national economic planning agency said “achievement of this goal will require arduous efforts.”
Li said on Saturday that in order to achieve this year’s economic goals, China needed to pursue “prudent and efficient” macro policies, with a “flexible and appropriate” monetary policy. Li said the yuan’s exchange rate “will generally be kept stable at an adaptive, balanced level.”
The yuan has strengthened near a 4-year high against the US dollar in the past few weeks.
China’s economic growth slowed slightly in the fourth quarter to 4% year-on-year, although full year growth of 8.1%.
The country is the only major economy to grow in 2020, while the rest of the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic.
However, sluggish consumer spending has yet to fully recover from the pandemic, and the fallout from Beijing’s regulatory crackdown on the tech and real estate sectors has dragged on growth. China’s strict policy of “no deal”, with sudden shutdowns and travel restrictions, has also weighed on the economy.
In recent two weeks, the heads of government ministries have been vocal about plans to provide more economic support, especially for small businesses and consumers.
On consumption, Premier Li on Saturday said the government would “increase personal income through multiple channels, improve the income distribution system, and increase people’s spending power.”
In addition to supporting the purchase of new energy vehicles and more energy-efficient home appliances in rural areas, Li did not name specific measures.
Regarding social welfare, Li said the government subsidy for basic health insurance for unemployed urban and rural residents would increase by an average of 30 yuan per person ($4.76), and Grants for basic public health services will increase by an average of 5 yuan per person. .
Foreign Investment, Taiwan
Li said in general that China will work to fully implement changes to the foreign investment blacklist. The latest version of the list allows foreign firms to gain more ownership in industries such as passenger car manufacturing.
He said China will encourage more foreign investment in more advanced manufacturing, research and development, modern services and in China’s central west and northeast regions.
Regarding Taiwan, Mr. Li said that Beijing “will promote the peaceful development of Taiwan strait relations and the reunification of China. We resolutely oppose any secessionist activities that seek to seek secessionist activities.” seek ‘Taiwan independence’ and firmly oppose foreign interference.”
As is often the case in official statements, Li does not mention other countries by name.
The “two sessions” is the annual meeting of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body and legislative body of the National People’s Congress in Beijing.
Though largely symbolic, the meetings draw delegates from across the country to adopt and announce national economic policies for the coming year. These include targets for GDP growth, employment, inflation, deficits, and government spending.
This year, the Two Sessions will last about a week, with the procedure scheduled to end on March 11.
