Beijing: China has set its annual GDP growth target at around 5 per cent for 2023, Global Times reported. The growth target set by China is reportedly the lowest in several years. China announced a draft budget for 2023 which will witness the country's annual defence budget rise to 1.5537 trillion yuan, an increase of 7.2 per cent.

The GDP growth target and China's other development goals were released in the Government Work Report. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang presented the Government Work Report during the first session of the 14th National People's Congress on Sunday, as per the Global Times report.

In the Government Work Report, Li Keqiang called it essential to prioritise economic stability and pursue progress while ensuring stability. Notably, China's GDP growth rate in 2022 was 3 per cent, as per the news report.

"This year, it is essential to prioritize economic stability and pursue progress while ensuring stability. Policies should be kept consistent and targeted, and they should be carried out in a more coordinated way to create synergy for high-quality development," Chinese Premier Li said in the Government Work Report.

Li Keqiang in the Government Government Work Report emphasised that China should give priority to the recovery and expansion of consumption. The Government Work Report called for preventing and defusing major economic and financial risks as one of the major priorities this year. It also stressed that the transition to green development should continue, as per the news report.

The report set higher economic indicators in comparison to last year. China's deficit-to-GDP ratio is projected at 3 per cent for 2023, which is 0.2 percentage points higher than in 2022. The Chinese government has set a higher goal for employment, targeting the creation of 12 million new urban jobs in 2023.

China on Sunday announced a draft budget for 2023 which features a 7.2 per cent rise in the defence budget, as per the Global Times report. According to the draft budget for 2023, the annual defence budget of China will rise to 1.5537 trillion yuan (USD 224.79 billion).

The proposed defence budget growth was announced in a draft budget report issued at the opening of the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Sunday, as per the news report.

The decision of the Chinese government marked the hike in the defence budget for the eighth consecutive year since 2016. The growth rate was 6.6 per cent in 2020, 6.8 per cent in 2021 and 7.1 per cent in 2022.

China has set a target of modernization of national defence and the armed forces by 2035, Global Times reported citing Xinhua. As per the news report, China is aiming to achieve the centenary goals of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) by 2027.