Xi Jinping To Take 'More Forceful Measures' To Achieve 2022 Economic Growth Targets

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday made a rare statement that his country aims to achieve its economic goals for the year, despite analysts trimming the GDP growth target for the country.

What Happened: Xi, in a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum, pledged to meet the country's economic targets for the year in the face of the government's zero-tolerance approach to combating COVID-19 outbreaks that dented its economy.

"We will step up macroeconomic policy adjustment, and adopt more forceful measures to deliver the economic and social development goals for the whole year and minimize the impact of COVID-19," he said.

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While Xi did not share more details on what kind of measures the government was considering, he emphasized "more forceful" measures, according to the speech published by state media.

Earlier at the annual meeting in mid-March, Xi had set the economic targets for the country, which included unemployment in cities of "no more than 5.5%," an increase in the consumer price index of "around 3%" and GDP growth of "around 5.5%."

Rhe GDP forecast among investment banks for China is far lower at nearly 3%. In May, JPMorgan slashed its forecast to 3.7% growth, down from 4.3%, and UBS cut its forecast to 3%, down from 4.2% previously.

Goldman Sachs economists Maggie Wei told the media publication in a note that "while growth recovery appears to have accelerated in June, barring dramatically more policy easing, we think the 'around 5.5% GDP growth' target remains extremely challenging this year."