Chinese Premier confident of achieving growth target this year

Despite recent disappointing figures, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said the country's economy is still on track to grow around 5%.

Speaking at the annual Pioneers Meeting organized by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Tianjin (China) on June 27, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said that the country is still on track to achieve its GDP growth target of around 5% this year. He predicted that the growth in the second quarter will be higher than the first quarter.

"From what we see, China's economy is showing clear signs of recovery and improvement," Mr. Li affirmed.

China's economy grew 4.5% in the first quarter, beating forecasts. However, economic data for May, from retail sales to fixed asset investment, fell short of analysts' expectations.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang at WEF on June 27. Photo: Reuters — Chinese Premier Li Qiang at WEF on June 27. Photo: *Reuters*

Recently, a series of major banks have lowered their growth forecasts for China this year. Goldman Sachs on June 18 lowered the rate from 6% to 5.4%. Nomura Holdings forecasts China's GDP to grow by only 5.1%. UBS believes the rate will be 5.2%. Standard Chartered expects a growth of 5.4%. JPMorgan lowered its forecast from 5.9% to 5.5%.

"Nowhere has the recovery momentum from reopening been as rapid as China. We expect the challenges to growth to persist. Officials are weighing a number of economic and political factors to decide on the appropriate stimulus," said Hui Shan, an analyst at Goldman Sachs.

As factory production slows amid weak domestic and foreign demand, Mr. Li today asserted that China will roll out more effective policies to stimulate demand and open up its market. He also pledged to continue to let China play its role as a growth engine for the global economy.

The Chinese premier said the pandemic will not be the last health crisis the world faces. He said Covid-19 will end and the visible and invisible challenges will also disappear.

He also warned governments against politicizing the economy, which would divide the world. "Some Western countries pursue what they call independence and risk reduction. But these two concepts are wrong goals. Globalization has turned the global economy into a unified whole. Everyone's interests are closely linked," he said.

The Chinese premier therefore called on countries to cooperate to resolve global challenges and regional conflicts. This statement was made at a time when US-China relations have deteriorated in recent years and the prolonged war in Ukraine threatens the global energy market.

Ha Thu (according to Bloomberg)

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