China set economic growth target of 6.5%

Beijing. March 6. Silkroadnews - China will continue to pursue stable economic growth this year, setting its GDP growth target at around 6.5 percent and reducing its fiscal deficit ratio target to 2.6 percent, China Daily reported.
According to the annual Government Work Report, the country will continue to pursue a reasonable, neutral monetary policy and active financial policy to maintain stable economic growth and take decisive measures to prevent financial risks.
China’s GDP growth in annual terms was 6.9% in 2017, which is higher than the target “around 6.5%” set by the government. Analysts, as a rule, predict growth rate to decline though not stop this year.
The budget deficit this year reaches 2.38 trillion yuan ($375.2 billion), and the ratio of the budget deficit to GDP is 2.6% versus 3% last year.
The report states China will continue to fulfill three main objectives to prevent major risks, mainly financial risks, targeted poverty reduction and air pollution abatement.
The level of consumer inflation in the country is around 3% this year - in 2017 the real growth in the consumer price index made 1.6%.
China plans to create at least 11 million jobs in 2018 and keep the registered unemployment rate in cities below 4.5 %%. The overall unemployment rate should be below 5.5%.
The world’s second largest economy will also introduce a long-term mechanism and targeted regulation to stabilize the real estate sector.