China sets 2025 growth target of around 5%

The opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Photo/Xinhua)

China has set a growth target of "around 5 percent" for 2025, the same as last year's figure, as the world's second-largest economy emphasizes expanding domestic demand with more supportive policies, according to the Government Work Report released on Wednesday.

Premier Li Qiang, who delivered the report at the opening of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress in Beijing, pledged that the country will pursue a more proactive fiscal policy and exercise a moderately loose monetary policy this year.

Li said the government has set a projected deficit-to-GDP ratio for 2025 at 4 percent, up from 3 percent for 2024.

The government started to release the annual projected deficit ratio in 2010, with the highest reading in 2020 at 3.6 percent as COVID-19 hit, according to market tracker Wind Info.

The work report also said China will issue 1.3 trillion yuan ($178.95 billion) in ultra-long-term special treasury bonds this year, up from 1 trillion yuan for 2024. This year's quota of special local government bonds will be increased to 4.4 trillion yuan from a record high of 3.9 trillion yuan last year.

This year, China, as laid out in the report, plans to target a surveyed urban unemployment rate of around 5.5 percent, the creation of over 12 million urban jobs, and consumer price index increase of around 2 percent.

Zhou Lanxu and Wang Keju contributed to this story