The Communist Party of China (CCP) began a congress on Friday postponed since February by the coronavirus epidemic, an important meeting that regulates the political and economic activity of the country. At his opening session, Prime Minister Li Keqiang made the announcement: “We have not set any concrete targets on what our economy needs to grow this year. The reason is that our country faces a number of factors that hinder this forecast, due to the uncertainty that exists between the COVID-19 pandemic and the global environments of the economy and transactions.”

Since its first edition in 1990, China has each year set the growth targets for Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with growth of 6% by 2020. After the country has been close since January and the world has been shaken by the COVID-19 epidemic, the Prime Minister has said that more than naming exactly that goal, which has too many unknowns, will stabilize jobs and ensure people’s standard of living.

Li Keqiang has admitted that China’s GDP has fallen by 6.8% in the first quarter of 2020 and will be further reduced in the current quarter. In this regard, he highlighted the factors underlying the congress: the gaps in supply chains and in international trade, the volatility of commodity markets and the decline in consumption, investments and exports in China.

Having abandoned the GDP growth targets, the Prime Minister has stated that inflation must reach 3.5% this year, create 9 million new jobs in cities and limit unemployment to 5.5%, equate the benefits of citizens to economic growth and eradicate poverty in rural areas.

The opening of the conference, chaired by President Xi Jinping, has also surprised international observers: the implementation of a new law to force Hong Kong to adopt national security legislation, which has generated so many disputes in that state.