(Beijing) China’s growth is seeing “solid momentum” despite a difficult international environment, Premier Li Qiang said on Thursday, pledging to support businesses savaged by the so-called zero COVID-19 policy and regulators .
He was speaking at the Bo’ao Forum for Asia, held on the tropical island of Hainan. This is his first speech at an international conference since his appointment to the post in early March.
“The momentum and condition of China’s economic growth is solid,” Li Qiang told dozens of foreign leaders, policy makers and business figures.
“The situation in March will be better than in January and February,” he said, referring to the end of 2022 the abandonment of the strict Chinese anti-COVID-19 restrictions which had severely seized the economy.
The Chinese government has set a growth target for this year “of around 5%”, one of the lowest in decades, while stressing that it “will not be easy” to achieve.
In his speech on Thursday, Li Qiang pledged his government would provide more support to the private sector, parts of which, such as real estate, technology and private education have been in the crosshairs of regulators.
“We will launch a series of new measures to expand market access,” he promised without detailing his intentions.
“We will improve the business environment […] so that state-owned enterprises improve, private companies have the courage to move forward and foreign companies have the inclination to invest. »
Amid high tensions with the United States, the Chinese premier also called for “opposing the abuse of unilateral sanctions” as well as “block confrontation and a new cold war”.
China regularly pleads against the imposition of Western sanctions, notably American, against Russia, Iran or North Korea, believing that they are not likely to solve the root of the problem.
“We are committed to resolving differences and disputes with other countries through peaceful means and jointly safeguarding world peace and tranquility,” Li Qiang said.
The Prime Minister met on Wednesday with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on the sidelines of the Bo’ao Forum, which is the Asian equivalent of the Davos Economic Forum.
Foreign leaders are present, such as the Spanish prime ministers Pedro Sanchez or Singaporean Lee Hsien Loong.