Several Chinese provinces pledged to meet their growth targets for the year. Top leaders downplayed the national target of “around 5.5 percent” after repeated Covid-19 outbreaks and a housing market slump.
At least 10 local governments said they will strive to reach their gross domestic product targets. At least seven others said they will keep the targets in mind and do their best. It is an analysis of official reports released by the provinces shows. Several others pledged efforts to stabilize the economy.
Economic powerhouse coastal province of Guangdong had the highest GDP of China’s 31 regions last year. Their goal is to expand their economy by “about 5.5 percent” this year. Growth reached 2 percent in the first six months of the year. Province’s economy will have to expand about 9 percent or more in the second half of the year to achieve the full-year goal. It is according to Bloomberg calculations.
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The province said it should “take serious political responsibility for stabilizing the macroeconomy”. It is according to a reading from a regular meeting of the provincial government in July. “It will do its best to drive good economic growth in the third quarter and strive to achieve annual economic development goals,” he said.
None of the economic growth rates of China’s provincial jurisdictions in the first half of the year exceeded their respective targets for the full year. The national economy grew 2.5 percent during the period, well below the annual target of “about 5.5 percent.”
China’s top leaders have been downplaying the importance of the GDP growth target in the face of mounting economic pressure. High-level Politburo meeting held last month. they softened the tone on the growth target. They concluded that the country should achieve “the best outcome” possible for economic growth.
In the same week as the Politburo meeting, leaders told government officials about the growth target. The growth target should serve as guidance rather than a difficult goal that must be achieved. This is according to people familiar with the discussions.
Many provinces have not given up on reaching their year-round targets. It includes some of the smaller economies such as Ningxia and Shaanxi. But they also rarely acknowledged how difficult it would be to achieve their goals. It is an exception being the northeastern province of Liaoning. It concludes at a July meeting that it “must be aware that it is very arduous to complete the annual objectives and tasks. The task which is set by the provincial people’s congress.”
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