The annual session of the National People’s Congress opened on March 5. Premier Li Keqiang kicked off proceedings by delivering the government’s annual work report. He said China’s economy, which grew 6.9 percent last year, was within “an appropriate range”.

The growth, which is one of the fastest among the world’s major economies, propelled China’s gross domestic product to 67.7 trillion yuan. And the service industry was promising, contributing to more than half of the country’s GDP for the first time in history. Speaking of the 2016 economic targets, Premier Li Keqiang says China will pursue a prudent monetary policy that is flexible and appropriate, and the growth of the broad money supply has been set at about 13 percent.

2016 marks the beginning of China’s 13th five-year plan. Premier Li says that GPD and per capita personal income in 2020 is set to double that of 2010, and the annual economic growth is expected to be at least 6.5 percent in next five years. Permanent urban residents will account for 60 percent of China’s population, and water consumption, energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP will be down by 23 percent, 15 percent and 18 percent respectively.