"No Easy Task": China's New Premier On Hitting Annual Growth Target

"I'm afraid that reaching our growth target of around five percent will be no easy task, and will require that we redouble our efforts," Li said at a press conference in the Chinese capital.

China's new Premier Li Qiang warned Monday it would be "no easy task" for the country to hit its annual growth target, already one of Beijing's lowest in decades.

"I'm afraid that reaching our growth target of around five percent will be no easy task, and will require that we redouble our efforts," Li said at a press conference in the Chinese capital.

The modest figure "has been determined after a comprehensive consideration of various factors", Li said in front of assembled domestic and international media as the annual meeting of China's rubber-stamp parliament drew to a close.

He warned of "many new challenges" to growth, but added that he thought most people "don't fix their sights every day" on China's GDP figures.