BEIJING – China is targeting economic growth of "around 5%" this year, and will take steps to catalyze a rebound after stalling under the weight of strict COVID controls last year, according to the country's outgoing premier, Li Keqiang.
The target is slightly lower than last year's goal of "around 5.5%", which was set before the highly-transmissible Omicron variant of COVID-19 collided the government's "zero COVID" policy, leading to mass lockdowns, forced quarantines and a sharp drop-off in economic activity.
