'China needs more spending and stimulus to meet goals'
An economist said China will need to offer strong stimulus measures and boost public spending if it wants to achieve its economic growth targets for the year. Speaking at a seminar on Wednesday, Tan Junyu, the regional economist for North Asia at French insurer Coface, projected the country's economy would expand 4.3 percent in 2024, as momentum from ending the Covid restrictions begins to wane. His projection was lower than the official target of five percent growth, as announced by Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday. Tan said the government needs to strengthen its macro policy stimulus measures to boost domestic spending and achieve its growth target. "Because consumption is weakening, right? Because there's very limited pent-up demand. Basically, this means that to achieve a similar growth target, there should be more policy support. I think the main channel is public spending this year. For example, through infrastructure and also public housing investment, I think that could be some anchor for public investment this year," he added.  Tan anticipated that economic growth in China this year would be driven by investment, with special treasury bonds playing a crucial role in supporting "major national strategies" and bolstering the security capacity in key industries as the primary drivers of growth in 2024.