BEIJING -- China set this year's growth target at "around 5%" as the National People's Congress (NPC) kicked off Sunday, in a cautious forecast after the pandemic-hit economy posted one of its weakest expansions in decades.
The impact of strict COVID-19 controls, a property market downturn and sagging exports took their toll on the world's No. 2 economy, which last year grew just 3%, marking one of its slowest rates since the mid-Seventies and well below an official 5.5% target.
