Investing.com – China plans to lower its GDP growth target to a range of between 6% to 6.5%, Premier Li Keqiang said in his annual work report delivered early into the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress that started Tuesday morning.
The lower end of the growth target would represent the slowest pace of economic growth in nearly three decades, according to Bloomberg. Unlike other years, authorities in Beijing are giving themselves a band for the growth target, as opposed to a specific number, which could give them more flexibility.
Chinese authorities also announced tax breaks on Tuesday morning, most notably a 3% cut to the top bracket of the value-added tax (VAT) in order to support the manufacturing sector.
According to Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) the 3 percentage-point cut to VAT could translate into CNY600 billion ($90 billion) or 0.6% of GDP, Bloomberg reported.
Other target economic figures for 2019 announced by Beijing include consumer price index (CPI) growth of 3% and a budget deficit of 2.8% of GDP.