[Things about China] Foreign media: China sets a medium-to-high-speed growth target to boost confidence in global economic development
China Daily, March 7. According to the
government work report, the main expected target of China's economic development this year - the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of about 5.5%.
Foreign media believe that China's ambitious economic growth target will boost confidence in the troubled global economy in the face of global uncertainty caused by the impact of the epidemic and the situation in Ukraine.
According to a report by Bloomberg on March 6, the Chinese government work report set the GDP growth target for this year as "about 5.5%".
This target is significantly higher than the 4.8% forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the 5.2% forecast by economists previously.
Investment banks such as JPMorgan Chase predict that the situation in Ukraine could reduce global economic growth by about a percentage point this year, the article said.
China's growth target for this year of 5.5 percent looks conservative on the surface, but leaves a lot of room for fiscal policy.
"The Chinese government's growth target is the upper limit of what can reasonably be achieved without massive stimulus," said Adam Wolf, an economist at Absolute Strategy Research in London.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Bert HOFMAN, director of the National University of Singapore's East Asian Institute and former director of the World Bank's China bureau, said that China's economic planners now face many challenges and that the 5.5 percent growth target is actually "quite high."
Iris Pang, Greater China economist at ING, said a potential shift could be for China to invest more in green energy, which would help China meet long-term climate goals and boost short-term GDP.
The New York Times reported that the Chinese government announced an economic growth target of "around 5.5 percent" this year, higher than many economists had expected.
The goal underscores the Chinese government's emphasis on maintaining growth in the face of global uncertainty caused by the impact of the epidemic and the situation in Ukraine.
The Chinese government work report mentioned that this year's government work must adhere to the principle of stability and progress while maintaining stability. The message is that China can withstand the turbulent situation in Europe and will be committed to making domestic people live and work in peace and contentment.
The Finnish "Helsinki Times" commentary said that the world is still in the predicament of the spread of the new crown epidemic and the slow economic recovery.
At this juncture, the key measures of China's development will provide the world with new impetus and positive energy, and help people rekindle their confidence in working towards a common future.