ENTERING RECOVERY PHASE
China hosted the meetings of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), following over two months of delays due to COVID-19 outbreak.
ANNOUNCEMENTS ON CPPCC MEETING
- Due to the high level of uncertainty caused by COVID-19 and impacts on the global economy, it was announced that China would not set a Growth Domestic Product (GDP) growth target for 2020. Based on the official statistics, China’s economy has been contracted by 6.8% in Q1 2020, and it is expected the contraction will continue in Q2.
- Secondly, a fiscal stimulus package which worth US$506 billion was announced to recover China’s economy post COVID-19. The budget aims to provide assistance to the local governments in terms of infrastructure funding and employment aspects.
- In addition, other topics include but not limited to free trade zones, medical services, taxes reduction were also being discussed in the meetings.