NPC Opening Session: China sets GDP growth target at 'approximately' 6.5 percent

World
Europe

During this morning's NPC session, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivered a work report on the government's accomplishments over the past five years and the challenges that lie ahead. CGTN's Han Peng reports.

Walking into a new era. This year's political season in China will witness a leadership change that happens once every five years. It's also a time to review the government's work since Xi Jinping became president in 2013. In Premier Li Keqiang's government work report, the economy came first.

LI KEQIANG CHINESE PREMIER "China currently accounts for 15 percent of the world's economy, an increase from just more than 11 percent five years ago. It now contributes over 30 percent of global growth."

The new growth target: approximately 6.5 percent, lower than the average of 7.1 percent over the past five years.

HAN PENG BEIJING "It's the same as last year's target, and the lowest in a decade. The use of the word 'approximately' signals that it is tolerable should the government fail to meet the goal. This comes as the authorities are paying more attention to the quality and balance of growth than to mere figures."

On the military front, Premier Li says China has reduced the armed forces by 300,000 troops, a promise President Xi made during a major military parade in 2015.

LI KEQIANG CHINESE PREMIER "We have undertaken major missions involving the protection of maritime rights, countering terrorism and maintaining stability, disaster reduction and relief, international peacekeeping, escort services in the Gulf of Aden, and humanitarian rescue."

Fighting corruption is another key word. President Xi's anti-corruption campaign punished over a million officials in five years, a number that was hard to imagine when he first took office. Now the authorities are determined to make the fight more institutionalized by proposing a supervisory body.

LI KEQIANG CHINESE PREMIER "Within less than three years, the newly elected leadership will have to deliver several major promises, including reducing poverty from 30 million to zero, providing internet access to everyone in the country, and building a moderately prosperous society, just to name a few. The clock is ticking for the tough work ahead. Han Peng, CGTN, Beijing."