Mr. Li gave few clues to whether China might shift away from its stringent “zero Covid” pandemic strategy, which has relied on mass testing and occasional lockdowns. He urged officials to handle local outbreaks in a “scientific and targeted manner.”
He also separately alluded to the widespread public outrage that erupted in recent weeks over the abduction of women and children. “We will crack down hard on the trafficking of women and children and protect their lawful rights and interests,” he said.
The outcry was set off after a blogger posted footage of a woman seen shackled in a windowless hut in east-central China’s Jiangsu Province, who had reportedly given birth to eight children. Official investigators said the woman had been abducted in 1998, a finding that people on social media said exposed longstanding problems with bride-trafficking and inadequate protections for women. The woman became a symbol of injustice, and censors have since sought to delete online discussions of her. (Mr. Li did not mention her.)
To bolster the economy, Mr. Li issued a government budget for this year that called for extra spending, plus the issuance of more bonds to pay for it.
The central government, which has fairly little debt, will increase by 18 percent this year its transfers of money to provincial and local governments, many of which are heavily indebted. The provincial and local governments carry out much of China’s social spending and infrastructure construction.
Social welfare and education outlays are both set to increase about 10 percent this year. That includes increased central government support for China’s old-age pension funds, which have to support a fast-expanding population of retirees. The budget also includes heavy spending to help rural families and to build more rental housing.
Many Chinese provinces have set their own growth targets at 7 percent or higher, as the Communist Party seeks to reassure the public that economic expansion remains a vital goal, said Feng Chucheng, a partner at Plenum, a political and economic consulting firm in Beijing. “They need to project a picture where the party puts growth targets as a top priority,” he said.
Keith Bradsher reported from Beijing, and Chris Buckley from Sydney. Li You, Liu Yi and Claire Fu contributed research.
