Chinese Premier says hard to achieve 8% growth

2009-03-13 03:30:10 GMT2009-03-13 11:30:10 (Beijing Time) Xinhua English

BEIJING, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Friday said the country has difficulty in achieving the goal of an 8 percent economic growth in 2009, but it is possible with "considerable efforts."

Setting the goal is "the government's commitment and responsibility" and has showed "confidence and hope" as the global financial crisis is taking a toll, said Wen at a press conference after the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC) closed.

"It's just like we need compass on a sailing vessel to know where we are heading and when we will arrive at the destination," he said.

China is in a stage of accelerating marketization and urbanization and its consumption is expanding, he said. With 1.3 billion population including 900 million rural residents, "China has a bigger market than those of the Europe and the United States given its big population and areas," he said.

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