PROGRESS AGAINST HEADWINDS

Speaking at the fifth annual session of the 13th National People’s Congress held in Beijing from March 5 to March 11， Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced that China would aim to achieve GDP growth of 5.5 percent this year.

Despite challenges on multiple fronts， China managed to notch an 8.1-percent growth in 2021， but the pace of expansion slowed in the final months of the year.

“Comprehensive analysis of evolving dynamics at home and abroad indicates that this year， the risks and challenges for development will rise significantly， and we must keep pushing to overcome them，” Li said.

The goal seems reasonable given this year’s tasks of advancing employment， further improving people’s livelihood， bolstering risk prevention and control， progressing carbon neutrality efforts， fostering new growth drivers， and unlocking potential for investment.

The whole world is grappling with a protracted pandemic and repercussions of Russian military action in Ukraine. Nevertheless， the Chinese premier expressed confidence that China would remain on a course of stable development.

After the recent introduction of the “dual circulation” model which calls for greater reliance on domestic consumption than external trade to propel the economy， China is in a better position to weather price fluctuations and supply chain disruptions and shift to high-quality economic growth.