In the news: China announces economic goals, the finance minister signals credit expansion and Baidu CEO suggests relaxing visa rules

March 07, 2017 | BY

Katherine Jo &clp articles

This week the NPC focused on controlling financial system risks, a minister suggested a wider budget deficit, and Baidu's Li proposed measures to attract foreign workers

Takeaways from Premier Li's NPC work report

With the National People's Congress (NPC) legislative sessions in full swing this week, the focus is very much on structural reform. A shift in tone was evident in Premier Li Keqiang's work report: while setting a GDP growth target of “about 6.5%,” a great deal of stress was laid on controlling financial risk. Other senior officials, including People's Bank of China (PBOC) Deputy Governor Yi Gang, pushed the idea of market stability as well. Non-performing loans, bond defaults, shadow banking and the risks involved in online financing have drawn special attention. While previous meetings have been short on specifics, this edition has seen Chinese officials stepping up communication. Some of the other key takeaways from the work report's economic targets include:

­- CPI target: about 3% increase
- Budget deficit: Rmb1.6 trillion (3% of GDP)
- M2 money supply growth: 12%
- Retail sales growth: about 10
- Capacity cuts: 150 million tons coal, 50 million tons steel

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