China, wary of market risks, likely to keep GDP target in 2018

Beijing

CHINA'S leaders are likely to maintain this year's growth target of "around 6.5 per cent" in 2018, even as they ratchet up efforts to prevent a destabilising build-up of debt in the world's second-largest economy, according to policy sources.

Policymakers will be under pressure to balance efforts to tackle debt with the need to keep growth on a steady path, they said. Investor concerns over a crackdown on debt was highlighted last week when a sell-off in bonds spread to the stock market.