China lowers 2015 economic growth target to around 7%

China lowers its economic growth target in 2015, but aims to achieve better-quality growth, as the government is endeavoring to maintain a proper balance between ensuring steady growth and making structural adjustments, Premier Li Keqiang said Thursday.
The world's second largest economy targets its growth of approximately 7 percent in 2015, lower than the goal of around 7.5 percent in 2014, according to a government work report delivered by Li at the parliament's annual session.
The growth target for 2015 is also lower than the 7.4-percent economic growth rate registered in 2014, its weakest annual expansion since 1990.
"Over the past year, the international and domestic environments faced by China in its development have been complicated and challenging. The road to global economic recovery has been rough, with many ups and downs, and the performance of the major economies has been divergent," Li said.
"Downward pressure on China's economy has continued to mount, and we have faced an array of interwoven difficulties and challenges," he added.
In the 35 years between 1978 and 2013, annual growth of the Chinese economy averaged close to 10 percent. However, the "good old days" had to end, with growth decelerating to 7.7 percent in 2012 and 2013.