China should lower its economic growth target
Growth has already cooled to a near 30-year low of 6% in the third quarter, and could slip further in the fourth quarter, though for the full year it remains on track to meet the government's target of 6-6.5%, Yao Jingyuan, an advisor to the State Council, China's cabinet, told reporters on Wednesday.
Next year will be crucial for the ruling Communist Party to fulfill its longstanding goal of doubling gross domestic product and incomes in the decade to 2020, and to turn China into a "modestly prosperous" nation.
"Growth should be around 6%. We cannot achieve that goal if growth is lower," said Yao, formerly the National Bureau of Statistics' chief economist. Another policy advisor, who declined to be named, also advocated a 6% target for 2020.
The government needs to step up stimulus to prevent growth slipping below that level next year, as that could worsen employment, government revenues, company profits, Yao said.
The State Information Centre, a top government think tank, has also proposed a target of around 6%
Rising unemployment could pose a challenge
China's central bank warned on Monday of increasing downside risks for the economy, and a Reuters poll has forecast China's growth would slip to 6.2% this year and then ease further to 5.9% in 2020.
Beijing has been relying on a mix of fiscal and monetary steps to weather the current downturn, cutting taxes and issuing local government bonds to fund infrastructure projects, while banks have been encouraged to lend by reductions in their reserve requirements.
China has brought forward 1 trillion yuan ($142.07 billion) of the 2020 local
Yu Yongding, an influential Chinese economist who previously advised the central bank, advocates an increase in the 2020 budget deficit ratio to 3% from this year's 2.8% to spur fiscal spending needed to secure 6% economic growth next year.
Policymakers could roll out more stimulus, though worries over debt and property market risks limit their room for action, policy insiders said.
Yao said increasing fiscal and monetary policy support would not fuel
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