President Xi Jinping (center), who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, and other leaders attend the opening meeting on Thursday of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress, China's top legislature, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xie Huanchi/Xinhua
China has set its GDP growth target for 2026 at 4.5 to 5 percent, a moderate projection that experts said allows greater policy flexibility to focus on high-quality development while maintaining stable growth, given the structural challenges in the country's economy and the uncertain global landscape.
The annual growth target was unveiled on Thursday in the Government Work Report delivered by Premier Li Qiang to the National People's Congress for deliberation, as the nation's top legislature opened its annual session on Thursday in Beijing.
The draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), a blueprint for the country's economic and social development in the next five years, was submitted to the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC for review.
"The GDP growth target is well aligned with our long-range objectives through the year 2035 and broadly in line with the long-term growth potential of China's economy," the Government Work Report said.
In the next five years, China expects to keep its GDP growth within an appropriate range, with annual growth rates to be determined in light of actual conditions, according to the report.
Over the past five years, China's economy has grown steadily amid strong headwinds, with an average annual growth of 5.4 percent, well above the global average.
Premier Li Qiang delivers the Government Work Report at the meeting in Beijing on Thursday. HUANG JINGWEN/XINHUA
In 2025, the GDP of the world's second-largest economy surpassed 140 trillion yuan ($20.3 trillion) for the first time.
This year's growth target comes amid the Chinese economy facing a grave and complex landscape, where external shocks and challenges are intertwined with domestic difficulties and tough policy choices.
Sun Xuegong, director-general of the department of policy study and consultation at the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research, said that this year's GDP growth target is "reasonable and necessary".
"On the one hand, it aligns with our medium — and long-term development goals; on the other hand, this growth rate target also leaves room for structural adjustment in the pursuit of high-quality development," Sun said, adding that the target is also achievable, as China's economic fundamentals remain sound and enjoy a solid foundation.
Bernard Dewit, chairman of the Belgian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, said: "(China's) growth rate today is naturally lower than those seen five or 10 years ago, but that is normal and even healthy. Sustained double-digit growth is neither realistic nor sustainable for an economy of China's size and sophistication."
He said that China still boasts some favorable factors to ensure its long-term growth resilience, citing its pursuit of high-quality growth, its large population with a significant number of university graduates and its heavy investment in innovation, technology and green transformation.
"These structural strengths provide a solid foundation for steady and sustainable development," he said.
ACHIEVEMENTS AND GOALS CHINA DAILY
The main targets for development in 2026 also include a surveyed urban unemployment rate of around 5.5 percent, over 12 million new urban jobs, an increase in the consumer price index of around 2 percent, growth in personal income in step with economic growth, a basic equilibrium in the balance of payments, and a drop of around 3.8 percent in carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP.
The report said that the nation will continue to implement a more proactive fiscal policy, with the deficit-to-GDP ratio for this year set at around 4 percent. The government deficit is set at 5.89 trillion yuan in 2026, which is 230 billion yuan more than last year.
It also said that China will continue to apply an appropriately accommodative monetary policy and maintain adequate liquidity to ensure that aggregate financing and money supply rise in step with projected economic growth and consumer price index levels.
To pursue innovation-led and green development, China projects an annual average increase of at least 7 percent in nationwide R&D spending, and envisages a total reduction of 17 percent in carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP between 2026 and 2030, according to the report.
The report laid out key tasks for the government in 2026, pledging to make efforts to build a robust domestic market, foster new growth drivers at a faster pace, and move faster to achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology.
"Taking the expansion of domestic demand as our priority, we should make coordinated efforts to boost consumption and expand investment, tap into every potential for growth in domestic demand, and better leverage the strengths of our enormous market," the report said.
It also said that the country will tap the strengths of the new system for mobilizing resources nationwide to make breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields across entire chains.
ACHIEVEMENTS OF 2025 & MAJOR TARGETS FOR 2026 CHINA DAILY
The report also highlighted the country's commitment to continuing to deepen reform in key areas and expand high-standard opening-up. "We will expand market access and open up more areas, particularly in the service sector. We will further expand opening-up trials for value-added telecom services, biotechnology, wholly foreign-owned hospitals, and other fields, take well-ordered steps to expand opening up in the digital sector, and shorten the negative list for cross-border trade in services."
The report underscored China's commitment to deepening reform of the institutional framework for promoting foreign investment and ensuring national treatment for foreign-funded enterprises. A new edition of the Catalog of Encouraged Industries for Foreign Investment will be implemented, and foreign-funded enterprises will be encouraged to reinvest in China and expand production locally, it said.
Furthermore, the report emphasized the need to strengthen risk prevention and mitigation and enhance security capacity in key areas. Efforts will be made to stabilize the real estate market, defuse local government debt risks and financial risks and safeguard national security and social stability.
Zhou Lanxu, Ouyang Shijia in Beijing and Zhang Zhouxiang in Brussels contributed to this story.
