Will not set target to double GDP from 2021: China set to focus on long-term growth

China will not set a goal of doubling its gross domestic product starting in 2021 so it can focus more on higher-quality, long-term growth, a senior Communist Party official said, in a break from past practice.

The world’s second-largest economy is well on track to hit its target of doubling GDP and per capita income by 2020 from 2010, and market speculation over new targets had intensified in the run-up to the twice-in-a-decade Communist Party congress that ended on Tuesday.

While China’s pursuit of strong growth targets over the years has helped lift the global economy from recession after the financial crisis, its corporate and local government debt has soared, regional economic disparities have widened and environmental damage has worsened.

Yang Weimin, vice minister of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs, told a news conference in Beijing on Thursday that China will not solely pursue economic expansion and will emphasise the quality of its growth.

The shift away from ambitious long-term government growth targets is a departure from past practice in China, and marks a new strategy for longer-term economic development.

In the opening speech of the 19th party congress last week, President Xi Jinping did not explicitly mention …read more