China aims for more than 6 percent economic growth this year, Prime Minister Li Keqiang said at the opening of the annual Chinese National People’s Congress in Beijing.
Li also announced that China wants to create 11 million new jobs in cities by 2021.
China’s expected growth in the gross domestic product is well below what analysts have predicted. They assume that the economy can grow by more than 8 percent this year.
Prime Minister Li stated that the target of 6 percent includes the “recovery in economic activity”, referring to the economic consequences of the corona crisis.
Last year, for the first time since 2002, the government scrapped the annual target for economic growth due to the uncertainties brought about by the corona pandemic.
In 2020, the Chinese economy grew by 2.2 percent, according to official figures. This made China the only economic superpower that did not contract last year.