Economy likely to maintain stable growth
Prospects still promising despite shocks caused by the novel coronavirus outbreak. Zhou Lanxu reports.


Global uncertainty
Though the COVID-19 pandemic has been broadly brought under control in China, it continues to spread globally, intensifying economic uncertainty.
The International Monetary Fund is likely to revise downward its previous forecast of a 3 percent contraction in global GDP this year, which would have already signaled the deepest downturn since the Great Depression in the 1930s, Reuters reported.
Liu Zhiqin, a senior researcher with the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, said that amid unprecedented uncertainty, the government's decision to abandon a GDP growth target will give policymakers more flexibility to respond to rapid changes in the situation.
A raft of development goals outlined in the Government Work Report will replace the GDP target to anchor market expectations and help guide more resources into high-quality development that stresses improvements in living standards, Liu said.
According to the report, the government will pursue targets related to eight major aspects of economic and social development-such as employment, price levels, foreign trade, personal incomes, poverty elimination and the prevention of financial risks-in line with the requirements of ensuring security in the "six areas".
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