The National People’s Congress also decided to give Xi Jinping a third term as president and implement the biggest government reshuffle in a decade.
The National People’s Congress (NPC) of China launched its annual parliamentary sessionannouncing a modest economic growth target of around 5%.
The session, which began in Beijing on Sunday, is also expected to give President Xi Jinping a third term and implement the biggest government reshuffle in a decade.
Outgoing Premier Li Keqiang opened the meeting at 09:00 (01:00 GMT), reading a work report that said it was essential to prioritize economic stability and set an economic growth target of “about 5%”, one of the lowest in the country in decades.
The report also announced a target of creating around 12 million urban jobs this year, up from at least 11 million last year.
China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew just 3% last year, one of its worst results in decades, squeezed by three years of COVID-19 restrictions, the crisis in its vast sector real estate, repression of private companies and weakening demand for Chinese exports.
“Under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee, we have carried out a response to COVID-19 and pursued economic and social development in an efficient and well-coordinated manner,” the government report said.
“By overcoming great difficulties and challenges, we have managed to maintain an overall stable economic performance,” he added.
The Chinese government has also set a budget deficit target of 3% of GDP, according to the report, up from a target of around 2.8% last year.
This year’s parliamentary session will see Li and a slate of more reformist economic policymakers step down, making way for loyalists to Xi, who has further tightened his grip on power by securing a third term as leader of the Congress of October Communist Party. .
During the NPC, former Shanghai party leader Li Qiang, a longtime Xi ally, is expected to be confirmed as prime minister, tasked with reinvigorating the world’s second-largest economy.
The buffer parliament, which will end on March 13, will also be discuss Xi’s plans for an “intensive” and “far-reaching” reorganization of state and Communist Party entities, state media reported on Tuesday, with analysts expecting a further deepening of the Communist Party’s penetration into state organs. of State.
The NPC opened on a smoggy day amid tight security in the Chinese capital, with 2,948 delegates gathering in the cavernous Great Hall of the People on the west side of Tiananmen Square.
It is the first NPC meeting since China abruptly abandoned its zero COVID policy in December, following rare nationwide protests.
Steve Tsang, director of SOAS China Institute at the University of London, said Xi now had the opportunity to post his response to the pressure created by last year’s unrest.
“He acted decisively when the protests included calls for him and the CCP to stand down. He canceled them and removed the root cause,” he told AFP news agency.
“He can present himself as a leader from the front, rather than being pushed to react.”
Globally, China faces many headwinds, including deteriorating relations with the United States, which tries to block its access to advanced technologies, and strained ties with Western Europe, a partner crucial commercial, about Beijing’s diplomatic support for Russia in its war in Ukraine.