China set a modest economic growth target of around 5% for the year, with the nation’s top leaders avoiding any large stimulus to boost a recovery still being weighed down by weak business confidence and an uncertain property market.
Premier Li Keqiang announced the goal for gross domestic product in his final report to the Communist Party-controlled parliament, which kicked off its annual meeting on Sunday. Economists had expected a more ambitious target of above 5% following a rebound in consumer and business spending after the end of coronavirus restrictions.
The goal "should be taken as a floor of growth the government is willing to tolerate,” said Zhang Zhiwei, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management. "Because the COVID policy has been adjusted, there’s no urgency for them to run another round of big economic stimulus.”