Sluggish economic growth to overshadow upcoming Chinese Congress session
Categories: FOREIGN COUNTRIES
A property downturn, slowing economy and war in Ukraine loom large over this week's annual convening of China's legislature, with policymakers expected to focus on shoring up faltering growth.The rubber-stamp parliament starting Saturday in Beijing gathers some 3,000 members of the National People's Congress (NPC) for highly choreographed meetings over bills, budgets and personnel changes. Stringent "zero-Covid" measures including harsh lockdowns and closed borders have also been a major blow to manufacturing hubs, tourist centres and port cities.Meanwhile, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has raised the prospect of spiking food and oil prices, with fears over supplies of crucial commodities from the region being affected.Commerce Minister Wang Wentao admitted to journalists this week that China's economy faces "huge" pressure this year. Maintaining stability will be crucial as the Communist Party gears up for a pivotal meeting this fall -- the 20th party congress -- that is expected to easily secure President Xi Jinping a third term.In 2020, there was no GDP target set at all, and last year Li announced a modest goal of "above six percent". Amid the unpredictability, analysts expect Beijing to announce a similarly open and attainable target this year."We expect the growth target to be set at 'above five percent'," UOB economist Ho Woei Chen said in a recent report, adding that pace would match the past two years' average of 5.1 per cent.Iris Pang, ING's chief economist for Greater China, expected the range could be higher after the country easily exceeded last year's target.