China drops annual GDP target for 2020 citing coronavirus, global uncertainties

China for the first time in decades has decided to drop its annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) target in order to prioritise its coronavirus response and focus on stabilising the economy. The Chinese government had started publishing its annual growth targets in 1990 but this year due to the pandemic, the Communist state has decided to abandon it. According to reports, Premier Li Keqiang while addressing parliamentarians at the opening of the National People's Congress said that due to uncertainty surrounding global trade no such targets will be given this year which will help lawmakers focus on other key areas. 

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Before the start of the new session, economists and experts from across the globe had predicted China to set its GDP target for this year at 6 percent. However, with Premier Li's announcement it is now clear that Beijing is currently more concerned about the coronavirus pandemic than it is about the economy. China has suffered economically last year as well because of the fierce trade war with the United States, which saw its economy grow by 6.1 percent, the country's slowest rate of growth since 1990.

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Premier Li Keqiang set some targets for this year and among those is the creation of 9 million new urban jobs, which is 2 million fewer jobs from what was set in the year 2019. As per reports, Premier Li set the target for consumer price index (CPI) at around 3.5 percent, which saw an increase from the previous year. This year Premier Li took half the time to deliver his annual speech than what he took last year. 

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COVID-19 in China

China has successfully managed to contain the coronavirus outbreak if the data from the Communist state are to be believed. According to figures by Johns Hopkins University, China has recorded over 84,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, of which more than 4,600 people have lost their lives. Health experts believe that the virus emerged from a seafood market in China's Wuhan city, where exotic animals were reportedly being traded illegally. 

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(Image Credit: AP)