China's premier 'fully confident' of hitting growth targets

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Tuesday he was "fully confident" the country would hit its economic goals this year, lauding recent stimulus measures and suggesting there was still room for more.

China's leaders have set an annual growth target of around five percent, but in the third quarter the country saw its slowest expansion in a year and a half as its post-pandemic recovery remained stubbornly uneven.

The government has announced a raft of measures aimed at boosting activity, including rate cuts and the easing of some home purchasing restrictions, but analysts have criticised the lack of detail so far.

Observers hope a specific figure for the stimulus could emerge from this week's meeting of the Standing Committee of National People's Congress, the top body of China's rubber stamp parliament.

"We are fully confident in the realisation of this year's goals and the development of China's economy in the future," Li said Tuesday at the opening ceremony of a major international trade show in Shanghai.

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Referring to the recent package of measures, Li, who has official responsibility for economic policy, said they had been "well-received".

"China's major economic indicators have rebounded across the board, market confidence has increased significantly, social expectations have improved significantly, and there have been many positive changes in economic operation," he said.

An initial market rally when the measures were announced has since fizzled out, with investors put out by the lack of detail.

But there have been glimmers of hope for the economy recently, including China's manufacturing output expanding for the first time in six months in October.

On Tuesday Li suggested that officials still had room to manouevre when it came to further measures.

"In the face of downward economic pressure, we have the requirements for increasing counter-cyclical adjustments," he said.

"There is a relatively large space for financial and monetary policies, and the policy tools are even more abundant," he added.

Source: AFP