BEIJING – China’s government will aim for 8 percent economic growth this year, as it seeks to tamp down ongoing economic trouble spots like a property bubble and growing income divide, Premier Wen Jiabao said March 5.
In his annual address to the opening of the National People’s Congress, Wen spoke at length about economic triumphs and trials, and outlined a long list of issues the central government plans to tackle this year. The speech, akin to a state of the union address, is typically short on real specifics and long on broad ideas.
Wen reiterated that 2009 was the most difficult year this century for China’s economic development and said 2010 will bring continued challenges. While 8 percent growth is moderate and conservative for China, Wen said the central government believes modest growth is the right direction amid economic rebalancing. Even last year, despite the hit of the global financial crunch, China’s gross domestic product still grew by 8.7 percent.
Related Articles
Wen said even though China, the world’s most populous country, was the first to emerge from the global financial crisis intact, challenges loom large.
You May Also Like
“We must not interpret the economic turnaround as a fundamental improvement in the economic situation,” said Wen. “There is insufficient internal impetus driving economic growth. The foundation for global economic recovery remains weak. Financial risks have not been completely illuminated, individual countries face difficult choices in phasing out their stimulus policies and larger fluctuations may occur in the prices of major commodities and exchange rates among the major currencies.”
The central government has said it remains committed to the vast stimulus spending credited with lifting China out of the financial crisis. The $586 billion spending package has focused mainly on heavy infrastructure projects like highways and railways, creating million of jobs but causing concerns of about artificial economic boosts and lending bubbles. Banking regulators last month ordered commercial banks to curb loans to local governments, but Wen did not address the issue of what will happen after China’s stimulus spending comes to an end.
Wen also said lawmakers need to address a growing labor shortage, work on spurring domestic consumption and address vast problems in education while continuing with health care and pension reform.