Chinese premier confident economy will meet annual growth target

[April 13, 2019]  By Alexandra Harney

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China is confident that it will meet its 2019 economic growth target of six percent to 6.5 percent, premier Li Keqiang said on Friday.

Speaking at a summit between China and Central and Eastern European countries in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik, Li listed several positive indicators of economic activity and pledged to continue policies to help support growth.

Li said China would maintain the direction of its macroeconomic policies but would not move toward quantitative easing or flood the economy with bank bills.

A Reuters poll on Friday showed China's economic growth is expected to slow to a near 30-year low of 6.2 percent this year, as sluggish demand at home and abroad weigh on activity despite a flurry of policy support measures.

(Reporting by Alexandra Harney; Additional reporting by Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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