China sets lowest GDP target in decades over 'grave' outlook

China set its lowest annual GDP target in decade, as Premier Li Keqiang warned of a "grave and uncertain" outlook against the backdrop of the coronavirus, a property slump and uncertainty over the war in Ukraine.

Li announced the unusually modest target of around 5.5 percent growth for 2022 -- the lowest since 1991 -- in his speech opening the annual session of China's rubber-stamp parliament.

Addressing about 3,000 members of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing's cavernous Great Hall of the People, Li said the world's second-largest economy "will encounter many more risks and challenges, and we must keep pushing to overcome them".

The target was based on a need to maintain stable employment, basic living needs and "guard against risks", Li said in China's version of a state of the nation address.

China's economy is a key driver of global growth and crucial domestically for the ruling Communist Party, which has based its legitimacy on delivering steady economic expansion and improved standards of living.

The party is deeply concerned over social instability in its huge population should economic growth dip too low. 

Economic stability must be a "top priority", Li added.

The annual parliament session is a week of highly choreographed meetings laying out the party's political priorities, economic expectations, and foreign policy goals, and this edition comes in a year in which President Xi Jinping intends to further cement his grip on power.

Prior sessions have unveiled high-profile legislation such as the tough national security law imposed on Hong Kong and reversals to the country's one-child policy, but no flagship laws are expected this year.

Chinese economic growth has slowed markedly in recent years from its past boom decades, when annual expansion sometimes exceeded 10 percent.