Beijing sets GDP target for this year at 'around 7.5%'

CHINA has kept its 2014 GDP (gross domestic product) target at "around 7.5 per cent", a sign that the government still considers growth a priority for stability and that it wants to boost market confidence.

In a 90-minute speech to the 3,000 or so delegates at the annual National People's Congress, Premier Li Keqiang outlined in his work report the country's main economic targets and implementation details of the ambitious reform plan announced late last year.

It covered China's most urgent issues from local government debt to household registrations, but left many analysts wondering if the premier was not promising too much.