China sets ambitious 2024 economic target at national people's congress

• Premier Li Qiang announced a 5% growth target for China's economy at the annual National People's Congress.
• He acknowledged the country's economic challenges, including real estate, local government debt, and small and medium financial institutions.
• Despite official figures indicating a 5.2% GDP growth in 2018, critics argue the real figure could be less than a third of that.

At the opening of the annual National People's Congress (NPC) on Tuesday, Premier Li Qiang announced an ambitious growth target of around 5% for this year, outlining a series of measures aimed at boosting China's flagging economy. Mr. Li acknowledged that China's economic performance had faced "difficulties," stating that many of these difficulties "have yet to be resolved."

This occurs as China struggles to reinvigorate its once-booming economy.

"Risks and potential dangers in real estate, local government debt, and small and medium financial institutions were acute in some areas," he said. "Under these circumstances, we faced considerably more dilemmas in making policy decisions and doing our work."

Premier Li also announced a series of other measures aimed at helping tackle the country's slow recovery from the pandemic, including the development of new initiatives to address problems in the crisis-hit property sector.

Additionally, Beijing aims to add 12 million jobs in urban areas. Premier Li stated that regulation of financial markets will also be increased, and there will be stepped-up research in new technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and life sciences.

In addition to measures to boost the economy, China will increase defense spending by 7.2% this year. Its neighbors and the US closely watch Beijing's defense budget due to concerns over its intentions, particularly as tensions remain high over Taiwan.

For decades, the Chinese economy expanded at a stellar rate, with official figures indicating its gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an average of close to 10% per year. Along the way, it overtook Japan to become the world's second-largest economy, with Beijing claiming that it lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. Beijing states that last year the economy grew by 5.2%, which, even at that level, is low for China. However, some critics argue the real figure could be less than a third of that.

"I think the next five or 10 years is going to be difficult," Andrew Collier Managing Director from China research firm Orient Capital Research told the BBC.

"A lot of economists think the numbers are completely fabricated. The idea of 5.2% or 5.5% growth is much likely wrong. It's more like 1% or 2%," he added.

Whichever figures are accurate, it is clear that this vast country and its leaders face a daunting array of economic challenges. This list includes a property market in crisis, a shaky stock market, high youth unemployment, and the threat of deflation as consumer prices continue to fall. Longer-term issues, from trade and geopolitical tensions to China's falling birth rate and aging population, compound these immediate problems.

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