Guangzhou (JLC), March 5, 2024 – The government targeted a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of around 5% this year, Premier Li Qiang said in his first government work report submitted to the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, on Tuesday.
The 2024 target is the same as last year’s target. China achieved a GDP growth of 5.2% in 2023, above its annual target, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.
Consumer price index (CPI) growth will be controlled at around 3% in 2024, the Premier said. Efforts will be made to ensure that people's income grows along with the economy.
In addition, the country will strive to create more than 12 million jobs in urban areas and keep the surveyed urban unemployment rate at around 5.5% this year, the Premier added.
The government also set a target of reducing energy consumption per unit of GDP by 2.5%, the Premier said, with continuous efforts to facilitate carbon neutrality.
Budgetary objectives and fiscal measures
The government’s deficit-to-GDP ratio was set at 3% for 2024, with deficit amounting to CNY4.06 trillion, according to the work report.
General public budget expenditure was set at CNY28.5 trillion in 2024, increasing by CNY1.1 trillion year on year.
In addition, the country will see CNY3.9 trillion of special-purpose bonds for local governments to be issued in 2024, up by CNY100 billion from last year.
China will also issue ultra-long special treasury bonds over each of the next several years for the purpose of implementing major national strategies and building up security capacity in key areas, starting with CNY1 trillion of such bonds this year, the Premier said.
Meanwhile, China will earmark CNY700 billion in the central government budget for investment in 2024.
