The 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature, opened its second session Tuesday morning (March 5) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders attended the opening meeting. Premier Li Qiang delivered a government work report at the meeting.
China targets economic growth of around 5 percent in 2024, according to a government work report submitted to the national legislature for deliberation.
The country expects to create over 12 million jobs in urban areas and keep the surveyed urban unemployment rate at around 5.5 percent this year, according to the report.
A proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy will be continued, with the ratio of deficit to gross domestic product (GDP) set at 3 percent and the government deficit to rise by 180 billion yuan from the 2023 budget figure.
The country will see 3.9 trillion yuan of special-purpose bonds for local governments to be issued this year, up by 100 billion yuan from last year.
It will also issue ultra-long special treasury bonds over each of the next several years for the purpose of implementing major national strategies and building up security capacity in key areas, starting with 1 trillion yuan of such bonds this year, the report said.
The consistency of the macro policy orientation should be enhanced, it said.
Under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, Chinese people have the courage, vision and strength to prevail over any difficulty or obstacle, according to a government work report.
The report said, over the past year, China has encountered many interwoven difficulties and challenges. Internationally, the world was faced with weak economic recovery, intensifying geopolitical conflicts, and rising protectionism and unilateralism. Domestically, after a three-year COVID-19 epidemic, many difficulties facing China's economic recovery and development had yet to be resolved. While deep-seated, long-standing issues became more pronounced, many new developments and problems emerged.
The report also noted multiple difficulties and challenges that the country is witnessing. For example, the foundation for China's sustained economic recovery and growth is not solid enough, and there is still a lack of effective demand. Some small and medium-sized enterprises face difficulties in operation. The country is confronted with both pressure on overall job creation and structural employment problems. Some primary-level governments are facing fiscal difficulties.
There is also room for improvement in the work of the government. Pointless formalities and bureaucratism remain acute. Some officials lack the readiness to get down to work, evade responsibilities, and do their work in a perfunctory way. Corruption remains a common problem in some sectors, according to the report.
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