Talks of hard landing should end now – Chinese premier lays out his biggest wins in office
Li says economy can maintain medium to high growth in the medium and long run
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday defended his record of economic management, saying his biggest achievements in his four years in the top office have been steering the country on a steady growth course and avoiding the much talked-about threat of a “hard landing”.
Addressing hundreds of journalists at the end of the annual gathering of the country’s legislature, Li hit back at the doubters, saying the economy would be able to maintain medium to high growth in the long run.
“I’ve been hearing talk in recent years about China heading for a hard landing but such talk should end now,” Li said.
Li said growth in the last four years had been steady, with annual headline growth differences narrower than 1 percentage point.
That was achieved, he said, thanks to “the leadership of the Communist Party’s Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core”.
The mainland’s gross domestic product rose 6.7 per cent last year, and Beijing is aiming for growth of about 6.5 per cent for 2017. Economic indicators in the first two months of this year suggest the economy is gaining momentum, led by expansion in fixed-asset investment.
