China's National People's Congress's growth rate is 'less than 5%', government bond is 1 trillion yuan, military budget is increased by 7.2%

China's National People's Congress's growth rate is 'less than 5%', government bond is 1 trillion yuan, military budget is increased by 7.2%

China's National People's Congress acknowledged that the growth rate was 'less than 5%' and issued 1 trillion yuan in national bonds, increased military spending by 7.2%, and announced 'promotion of Taiwan unification'.
China's National People's Congress (NPC, National Assembly) set the 2024 gross domestic product (GDP) growth target at "about 5.0%," the same level as the 2023 target, in a report by Prime Minister Li Qiang Liqiang on the 5th, but "this year's target has been achieved." “It won’t be easy to do,” he admitted.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted China's growth rate in 2024 to be 4.6%.
The report said this year's defense budget is 1.6655 trillion yuan ($231 billion), up 7.2% from the same period last year. "We will comprehensively strengthen training and combat readiness and advance military struggle preparations," he said. “Through training, we will resolutely protect national sovereignty, security, and development interests,” he said, announcing the strengthening of the military arms augmentation system.
Regarding the expansion of China's fiscal deficit, Yomiuri cited the National People's Congress report and said, “The Chinese government announced that it will issue ultra-long-term special government bonds for several consecutive years, starting with 1 trillion yuan per year for 24 years,” and “This is equivalent to 0.8% of GDP and this year’s “If the achievement of around 5.0% by the end of the year is jeopardized, there is a possibility that the government will raise the bottom of GDP through fiscal stimulus measures,” a report from Beijing said on the 6th.
AP said, “The (Chinese) government’s 2024 target is a signal that it wants to stabilize growth, so the government’s overall approach to the economy will not change,” adding, “Premier Li announced this year’s GDP growth target of 5%, which remains difficult.” “It is a reasonable goal, and China is combating the economic downturn and real estate market crisis that led to a liquidity crisis for developers due to excessive crackdowns on lending,” the report said.
"This year's targets are effectively the same as last year, and Beijing's policy stall is likely as the central leadership postpones key economic policy decisions until the third plenary session later this year," said Neil Thomas, China political analyst at the Asia Society. “It reflects,” he told the AP.
The New York Times said, “China has set strong economic growth goals, but there is no large stimulus package.” “Instead, the government announced that it would support special bonds for local governments with a similar amount of funds as last year, and did not propose any new measures for the real estate market.” “We only mentioned the need to increase consumer confidence,” he said on the 6th.
NYT said, “Some people say the National People's Congress report suggests China is ready to take bigger steps to revive the economy, such as bailing out local governments, rescuing real estate companies that have not collapsed, or providing subsidies to households. “For decades, China’s economy had been synonymous with much higher growth, sometimes double-digit growth, but it was battered by three years of stringent pandemic measures and a deepening real estate crisis drove up spending.” “With hundreds of developers going bankrupt and a lack of action from China’s leaders, some experts are skeptical that China will achieve 5% growth this year.”
In a report to the National People's Congress, Premier Li reiterated China's long-standing warnings against "separatist activities aimed at 'Taiwan independence,'" and said China would "firmly pursue the cause of Chinese unification."
Taiwan's President-elect Lai Ching-de will take office in May.