<\/p>\nListen to this article<\/span>\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span>4 mins<\/span><\/p>\n<\/button>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Thousands of Chinese officials have gathered in Beijing for the opening session of the National People\u2019s Congress (NPC), where delegates are approving the country\u2019s economic and political roadmap for the next five years.<\/p>\n<p>China has set a target of 4.5 to 5 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2026, according to a government report reviewed by the state\u2019s official Xinhua News Agency on Thursday, down from a recent target of \u201caround 5 percent\u201d.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>The lowered growth figure reflects China\u2019s economic slowdown, triggered in part by the collapse of the country\u2019s property sector, which once accounted for between 25 and 30 percent of GDP.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe growth target is quite realistic,\u201d the Economist Intelligence Unit\u2019s China economist Tianchen Xu said, noting the figure reflected China\u2019s trend towards more conservative expectations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a further shift from a \u2018number-first\u2019 mindset towards a \u2018quality-first\u2019 one,\u201d Xu told the Reuters news agency.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeijing does not necessarily see high growth rates as a good thing, because it may incentivise local officials to exaggerate growth with white elephant projects and data manipulation,\u201d Xu said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s about delivering more tangible economic results such as household income growth and expanded access to public services,\u201d Xu added.<\/p>\n<p>China also intends to expand defence spending by 7 percent, the lowest rate in five years, according to Reuters, albeit higher than the rest of the region.<\/p>\n<p>Facing a long-term economic slowdown, China is trying to transition from an economy driven by manufacturing and exports to one driven by consumption and cutting-edge technology. It is also aiming for more industrial self-reliance in the face of political headwinds from the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Other ongoing challenges facing the world\u2019s second-largest economy include deflationary pressure, weak consumer confidence, high youth unemployment and the fallout from US President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs and trade war.<\/p>\n<h3>\u2018Childbirth-friendly society\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>Chinese Premier Li Qiang\u2019s annual Government Work Report, presented at the NPC on Thursday, showed China\u2019s GDP grew 5 percent to 140.19 trillion renminbi (RMB) ($20.28 trillion) last year.<\/p>\n<p>The lengthy report also detailed other targets, such as China\u2019s plans for its 2026 fiscal stimulus, including a target of about 30 trillion RMB ($4.3 trillion) in public spending, according to Xinhua.<\/p>\n<p>China will continue state support for advanced industries such as \u201cintegrated circuits, aviation and aerospace, biomedicine, and the low-altitude economy\u201d, the work report said, referring to the use of drone technology in everything from logistics to agriculture and emergency services.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Officials have, according to reports, started targeting the problem of \u201cinvolution\u201d or over-competition between domestic firms, which often leads to overproduction and low-quality products.<\/p>\n<p>The work report also touched on how China plans to tackle social and environmental issues, such as population decline, which has been triggered by its ageing society, falling birthrate and the long-term impact of its now-abandoned one-child policy.<\/p>\n<p>China aims to become a \u201cchildbirth-friendly society\u201d, Xinhua reports, and the country intends to expand services for its growing population of people over 60.<\/p>\n<p>It also aims to hit peak carbon emissions by 2030 as it transitions to more renewable energy sources from coal and other fossil fuels, the report said.<\/p>\n<p>The NPC is being held in Beijing alongside the Chinese People\u2019s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a separate advisory body to the country\u2019s leadership that submits feedback and proposals for future legislation.<\/p>\n<p>Together, the NPC and CPPCC are known as the \u201cTwo Sessions\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The most important event of the week will be the release of China\u2019s 15th Five-Year Plan, which will outline its mid-term development targets for 2026 to 2030. China aims to double its 2020 GDP per capita by 2035 to become a \u201cmoderately developed\u201d economy, according to Xinhua.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a04 mins info Thousands of Chinese officials have gathered in Beijing for the opening session of the National People\u2019s Congress (NPC), where delegates are approving the country\u2019s economic and political roadmap for the next five years. China has set a target of 4.5 to 5 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13963,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13962\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}