So rarely does China’s official GDP growth target bear more than a passing resemblance to subsequent reality that it might be regarded as a less than useful indicator, writes James Kynge.
This year, however, much is riding on which number – if any – Beijing announces as its GDP target for 2014 at the annual National People’s Congress (NPC), which convenes on Wednesday.
Mark Williams, of Capital Economics in London, says that a GDP target unchanged from 2013 at “about 7.5 per cent” would force policy makers to keep a closer eye on headline growth and “probably ease policy” if growth slows much from the 7.7 per cent it posted in the fourth quarter of last year.