The 2nd session of the 14th convocation of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC, the highest legislative body) has opened in Beijing, the capital of China, which will last until 11 March. This is reported by China Daily, a partner of TV BRICS.

The session is attended by 2,956 deputies. They will review the government work report and set the agenda for the coming year. At the opening of the session, Premier Li Qiang said the country’s GDP exceeded 126 trillion yuan in 2023, rising 5.2 per cent. This has put China in the lead among the world’s leading economies in terms of economic growth.

“A comprehensive analysis and assessment shows that China’s development environment this year will continue to feature both strategic opportunities and challenges with favorable conditions out weighing unfavourable ones. The main targets for development this year are projected as follows: GDP growth of around 5%, over 12 million new urban jobs, surveyed urban unemployment rate of around 5.5%, CPI increase of around 3 percent.”

The prime minister also called for attention to reforms to boost entrepreneurship. This applies to public, private and foreign enterprises. In addition, he emphasised the need to speed up the creation of a single national market and to promote budgetary, financial and tax reforms. He also outlined measures China will take to attract foreign investment.

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