State Council meeting mulls ways to spur economy
China is mulling several policies to promote sustained recovery of its economy, according to a State Council meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang on Friday. Officials at the meeting pledged to roll out policies in a timely manner when the conditions are right and to take more forceful measures in response to changes in the economic situation, state media reported. While economic growth beat expectations in the first quarter, analysts are now downgrading their forecasts for the rest of the year, as factory output slows amid weak external and domestic demand. "A slowdown in global trade and investment has had a direct impact on China's economic recovery," the report added. The meeting also adopted an action plan to support financing for technology-based enterprises and a draft regulation on the supervision and administration of private investment funds. Beijing has set a modest GDP growth target of about 5 percent for this year after missing its 2022 goal. (Xinhua/Reuters)