China capable of meeting its growth target, head of top economic regulator says

China is capable of meeting its economic growth target of around 5.5 percent in 2022, according to the country's top economic regulator.

"China has the capabilities, confidence and conditions to keep the economy growing within a reasonable range this year," He Lifeng, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said on the sidelines of the ongoing two sessions on Saturday. 

He spoke highly of China's economic performance in 2021, saying China has made substantial strides last year, which has showcased the strong resilience and vitality of its economy.

He noted China's gross domestic product reached $17.7 trillion in 2021, an increase of about $3 trillion, which is almost equivalent to the GDP of a major economy ranking sixth place in G20 countries.

"Judging from the situation in January and February, we are fully confident in…meeting the annual growth target this year," He added. 

For the whole year, the country will continue to implement the construction of 102 key projects mapped out in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), accelerate the push for infrastructure spending, and boost investment in fields such as new urbanization and public services.

Citing the Government Work Report delivered at the opening of this year's session of the 13th National People's Congress in Beijing on Saturday, He said the government has prepared well for stimulating and expanding effective investment this year.

According to the report, investment from the central government budget will reach 640 billion yuan ($101 billion) this year, up by 30 billion yuan from the previous year. And the special-purpose bonds for local governments will total 3.65 trillion yuan this year, flat to the previous year. 

When it comes to China's ambitious goal of peaking carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality before 2060, He said that will create new development and business opportunities, such as spurring the development of emerging sectors and the upgrading and renovation of old equipment.

He noted pushing ahead with carbon peaking and neutrality works will effectively improve the living environment in both rural and urban regions, promote green development and contribution to the global response to climate change.

According to the 2022 Government Work Report, China will take well-ordered steps to achieve peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality this year, including making coal usage cleaner and more efficient while reducing the use of coal and replacing it with alternative energy sources in a well-ordered way.

More efforts will also be made to upgrade coal-fired power plants to conserve resources, reduce carbon emissions, make operations more flexible, and upgrade heating facilities.