Premier Li Qiang opened the National People's Congress in Beijing by setting an ambitious 5% growth target for 2024 and unveiling a 1 trillion yuan ultra-long sovereign bond programme to support strategic projects.
The annual government work report committed to a budget deficit of 3% of GDP, with additional fiscal headroom expected from the special-purpose bond issuance and local government refinancing.
Li placed renewed emphasis on "new productive forces", a Xi-era phrase encompassing advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, biotech, and clean energy as engines for the next decade of growth.
Analysts noted the absence of a traditional press conference at the close of the session, in what observers read as a further centralisation of communication around the Party leadership.