Advertisement
China GDP
EconomyChina Economy

China’s provinces set confident economic growth targets for 2021

  • Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong all forecast at least 6 per cent rise for year ahead
  • But as in 2020, central government is unlikely to set a nominal goal for GDP growth, policy advisers say

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
4
China’s provincial authorities are confident about their economic growth prospects in 2021. Photo: Xinhua
Orange Wang

Several of China’s provincial governments have released their economic growth targets for 2021, but policy advisers say that as in 2020, the central government is unlikely to set a national goal for the year.

Advertisement

Beijing said last week that the Chinese economy expanded by 2.3 per cent in 2020 and that it would maintain its support policies to ensure growth remained at a reasonable level in 2021, despite the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic and its disputes with the United States.

Observers say the reason they do not expect Beijing to set a growth target for 2021 is that the low base in 2020 could skew the figures.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told at a symposium on Friday that the government must “ensure the economy is running within an appropriate range”.

“Employment is the biggest issue of livelihood and the foundation of economic development, we must stick to an employment priority policy,” he said.

The event was held to solicit the opinions of businesspeople and economists on drafts of the government’s 2021 work report, 14th five-year plan and 2035 vision, all three of which will be formally presented at this year’s National People’s Congress (NPC), according to a statement issued by the State Council on Saturday.

Zhang Liqun, a researcher at the Development Research Centre of the State Council, said the economic growth target for 2021 was expected to once again be “abnormal”.

Advertisement
Advertisement