China Targets 8% Growth Even in Crisis

BEIJING, March 5 – Premier Wen Jiabao assured on Thursday that China will achieve 8 per cent growth this year despite a deepening financial crisis, setting out export support and spending programmes to shore up the economy. In the text of his annual work report to the National People’s Congress, the nation’s largely ceremonial parliament, Wen said the 8 per cent goal was a realistic one.