No easy task to achieve 7% growth: Premier Wen

Premier Wen Jiabao meets the press after the closing meeting of the Fourth Session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing March 14. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Monday that it is not easy to achieve a high-quality and efficient annual growth rate of seven percent during the 2011-2015 period.

Given China's increasingly large economic aggregate and the need to raise the quality and efficiency of its growth, "a seven-percent growth rate is not a low target," Wen told a press conference after the conclusion of the annual parliamentary session.

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China lowers its annual economic growth target to seven percent for the period of 2011-2015 from the target of 7.5 percent for the previous five years, according to the new five-year program adopted by the top legislature.

"The lowering of the target not only demonstrates the government's determination but also is a major move to transform its economic growth pattern," Wen said.

"A fast growth speed would bring more jobs and but lead to high inflationary pressure; A slower speed means less new jobs and risks economic recession," the premier said.

He said China must strike a balance between economic growth speed, job creation and inflation control.

"We should make full use of this opportunity to adjust the economic growth pattern and address the unbalanced, uncoordinated or unsustainable factors that have existed in China's economy for a long time," said Wen.