China holds off on fresh stimulus but confident will hit growth target [Video]

China said on Tuesday it was “fully confident” of hitting its growth target this year but held off announcing more stimulus measures, leaving markets disappointed.

Beijing has struggled to reignite business activity as officials target around five percent expansion, which analysts say is optimistic given the numerous headwinds, from a prolonged housing crisis to sluggish consumption and local government debt.

All eyes were on a news conference led by Zheng Shanjie, head of China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), on Tuesday, and investors hoped Beijing would unveil more economy-boosting policies.

But Zheng and colleagues refrained from laying out any new stimulus, instead reiterating that “the fundamentals of our country’s economic development have not changed”.

“We are fully confident in achieving the goals of economic and societal development for the year,” the top economic planner said.

“We are also fully confident in maintaining stable, healthy and sustainable development,” he added.

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