China leaders say 5.5% GDP growth is guidance

The top leaders told officials from the ministerial and provincial-level that the target will not be used to evaluate their performance

Chinese leaders told the government that this year's economic growth of about 5.5% is a guidance and not a hard target in a meeting last week, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday citing people familiar with the matter, Qazet.az reports.

At the meeting, the top leaders told officials from the ministerial and provincial-level that the target will not be used to evaluate their performance, neither will there be any penalty for failing to meet the target. The leaders acknowledged that the chances of achieving the set goal are thin, the report added.