Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that risks threatening the world's second-largest economy may warrant "stronger mitigating action" as growth is expected to slow further this year. He announced the official economic growth target is 6% to 6.5% this year, down from the 6.6% expansion in 2018.

During his speech at the opening of the annual National People's Congress, Li announced cuts in taxes and fees worth nearly 2 trillion yuan. In particular, the premier said the value-added tax rate for the manufacturing sector will be reduced from 16% to 13%, while the duty for transportation and construction will be cut from 10% to 9%.

In addition, Li announced plans to increase the country's infrastructure financing: Around 2.15 trillion yuan worth of local government special bonds will be issued this year to meet spending needs for key projects.

Partly due to greater fiscal support to the economy, the Chinese government budget deficit in 2019 is expected to widen to 2.76 trillion yuan, representing around 2.8% of China's gross domestic product, Li said.