HSBC chairman Peter Wong, who’s a CPPCC delegate, was fully confident the country could meet the target.
He recalled the many economic stimulus measures rolled out by the central government last year.
“We think that hitting the five percent growth target last year was no easy feat, given the geopolitical situation and the world economy. But we worked hard to achieve this goal, and it wasn’t easy,” he told RTHK.
“For 2025, I feel the country is well-planned to meet its goal.”
Wong’s sentiment was shared by Jonathan Choi, who chairs the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong.
The businessman, who is also a CPPCC Standing Committee member, noted Beijing’s support measures benefit companies big and small, across different sectors.
“I just feel that we can achieve it, because at the moment, the Chinese government spent a lot of attention [on] local enterprises, not only the [state-owned enterprises] … AI and also technology, new (sectors are) coming up,” he commented.
Meanwhile, NPC deputy Nicholas Chan described the five percent growth target as a bold one, considering the scale of China’s economy – the second-largest in the world.
“For such a big economy, five percent in GDP is huge. Five percent is basically the entire economy of Switzerland. With such a big pie, just a small growth is humongous,” he explained.
“So this will lead to a lot of opportunities for people all over the world, for people along the Belt and Road, Brics (countries), and Rcep (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership), so lots of opportunities for our friends together.”
