China has set its 2026 economic growth target at 4.5%–5%, a slight adjustment from the “around 5%” objective maintained over the past three years. Speaking at the opening of the annual legislative session on Thursday, Premier Li Qiang said the government aims to maintain economic momentum after meeting its 2025 growth goal, helped by resilient exports despite ongoing trade tensions with the U.S.
To support growth, Beijing will keep the fiscal deficit at 4.0% of GDP and set a consumer inflation target of around 2.0%, signaling efforts to counter deflationary pressure after prices were flat last year amid subdued demand. Stabilizing employment remains a key priority: the government plans to create 12 million urban jobs and cap the urban unemployment rate at 5.5%, the same target as in 2025.
In addition, local governments will be permitted to issue CNY 4.4 trillion in special-purpose bonds to finance investment projects. The central government will also issue CNY 1.3 trillion of ultralong treasury bonds, matching last year’s quota to reinforce fiscal support.
