China's Economic Growth Forecast at 7.5% This Year: Premier Li Keqiang Economic Growth Forecast Is Unchanged From Last Year
BEIJING—China's government aims to deliver economic growth of about 7.5% this year, Premier Li Keqiang said in a report to China's legislature released on Wednesday.
The target is unchanged from last year.
Gross domestic product growth has repeatedly outpaced the official target, coming in at 7.7% last year. But economists say that achieving that rate of growth is becoming more difficult as the economy matures.
In his first report as premier to the National People's Congress, Mr. Li said China would pursue a "balanced monetary policy." Last year, the then-premier, Wen Jiabao, called for a "prudent monetary policy." The change suggests Beijing may be more willing to shift monetary policy as a way to address any sharper-than-expected slowdown in economic growth. The NPC Is China's largely symbolic legislature.
Mr. Li said the government aims to contain consumer price inflation within 3.5%, unchanged from last year. Inflation in 2013 stayed well within the government's tolerance, with the consumer price index up just 2.6%.
Mr. Li also set a 13% target for the growth of M2, China's broadest measure of money supply, unchanged from last year. In 2013 the measure grew 13.6%, slightly faster than the government planned.
Mr. Li reiterated Beijing's calls to continue to liberalize interest rates, expand the trading band for the tightly controlled Chinese currency and to move toward capital-account convertibility. He also reiterated calls for China to implement a bank-deposit insurance system, a prerequisite for easing the country's capital controls.
The work report targeted a 14.5% rise in retail sales in 2014 and a 17.5% increase in fixed-asset investment.