The Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang announced in a statement that China has set a growth target of around 6.5% for 2018, reports Bloomberg. The figure is equal to that of last year, but without the additional objective for growth to be “higher if possible in practice”, reflecting policymakers drive for financial stability.
The release comes ahead of Li’s annual address of the National People’s Congress in Beijing later today, opening the 16-day long event.
Growth in 2017 came in at 6.9%, the first year of acceleration since the start of the decade, but many analysts predict a softening in 2018 due to concerns about deleveraging and trade tensions with the U.S. President Xi Jinping has recently removed high growth targets away from the centre of discussions, emphasising instead sustainable, higher-quality expansion.