China will promote growth to a ‘reasonable’ range: Li Keqiang

BEIJING: China will promote economic growth to a “reasonable” range while pursuing higher quality development, Premier Li Keqiang was quoted as saying on Tuesday by state radio.

Li, who did not give specific growth targets, was also quoted as saying that the government would continue to implement policies to support sectors in difficulties in this time of the coronavirus pandemic.

China’s factory output rose faster than expected in October and retail sales sped up, as the recovery in the world’s second-largest economy from its Covid-19 slump gathered momentum.

The government will “make an overall consideration of macro policies for the next phase, and enhance their effectiveness and sustainability”, Li said.

“Currently, the domestic and international situation remains complex and severe,” Li was quoted as saying.

Policy sources told Reuters earlier this month that Beijing was close to setting an average annual economic growth target of around 5% for the next five years.

China dropped its annual GDP target in 2020 because of the uncertainty caused by Covid-19.—Reuters