A Crucial Year,A Crucial Session

The 13th National Peoples Congress （NPC）， Chinas national legislature， opened its second session on March 5 at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Premier Li Keqiang delivered the Report on the Work of the Government on behalf of the State Council to NPC deputies and members of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference （CPPCC） National Committee. The report will be the basis of deliberation and discussion when assessing the social and economic performance of 2018 and for looking ahead to the next 12 months.

This year is the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Republic of China. It will be a crucial year for China as people endeavor to reach the first Centenary Goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020. The completion of this years economic and social development work will affect whether China can achieve this goal. Therefore， the Second Session of the 13th NPC marks a decisive conference convened in a crucial year.

The projected targets for economic and social development this year include GDP growth of 6-6.5 percent， over 11 million new urban jobs and a registered urban unemployment rate of 4.5 percent.

Given current circumstances， the report， which outlines the main objectives of economic and social development， is scientific and realistic. These objectives reflect the requirements of the Chinese Government to promote high-quality economic development and stay on track with regard to long-term macro plans. For the international community， the targets set by the Chinese Government also alleviate concerns that the downward pressure of the Chinese economy would encumber the world economy. The positive trend of Chinas economic growth in 2019 is not expected to change.

Great efforts should be made to achieve the main objectives in 2019 as China has to overcome and cope with problems and challenges on the path toward development. As warned by Premier Li in the report， growth in the global economy is slowing， protectionism and unilateralism are mounting， and there are drastic fluctuations in the prices of bulk commodities in the international market. Downward pressure on the Chinese economy continues to increase， growth in consumption is sluggish， and growth in investment lacks momentum.

As China forges ahead and overcomes diffi culties， hopes are high that it will produce better results regarding economic and social development in 2019.