China met targets in 5-year development roadmap: PM

By Mahmut Atanur

BEIJING

China’s prime minister has commended the country’s achievement of the main targets of its 2011-2015 economic and social development roadmap, but announced a lower average annual growth rate target for the next five-year period.

Li Keqiang said in his opening speech Saturday at the annual session of China’s top legislature that the economic growth target for 2016 was set at between 6.5 and 7 percent.

Meanwhile, the average annual growth rate target for the 2016-2020 period stood at above 6.5 percent – a figure that The China Daily described as the lowest in more than thirty years.

"We have taken into consideration the need to finish building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and the need to advance structural reform," he said of the estimated growth rate.

Amid concerns of a slowdown in China’s economy at a time of weak economic data and stock market performance, the premier stressed the need for a more sustainable model.

Presenting the government work report, he lauded how "China's soft power continued to grow” alongside the advancement of the rule of law and achievements “the military revolution with Chinese characteristics", Xinhua news agency reported.

He commended how the 12th Five-Year Plan period had witnessed impressive achievements in development despite a "complicated international environment" and "challenging tasks of carrying out reform and development and maintaining stability at home”.

Li, however, underlined that greater economic growth is accompanied by the increased “difficulty of achieving growth".

"We will not be daunted by these problems and challenges," he told the National People's Congress. "There is no difficulty we cannot get beyond."

Over the last five years, the country’s GDP grew at an average annual rate of 7.8 percent.

Under its 13th five-year plan, China aims to double its 2010 GDP and per capita personal income by 2020, according to Xinhua.

China's growth rate has declined significantly in recent years.

Its GDP rose by only 6.9 percent last year, falling from 7.3 percent in 2014 and marking the weakest growth in 25 years.