On March 5, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivered his government work report during the opening meeting of the second session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, stating that in 2014 China's GDP is expected to grow by 7.5 percent, while China's overall consumer price index (CPI) will be kept at around 3.5 percent in the given year. As regards the steel industry, Premier Li said that in 2014 China plans to eliminate 27 million mt of backward annual steel production capacity.
Meanwhile, as stated by the Chinese premier, the Chinese government budget deficit for 2014 will be RMB 1.35 trillion ($218 billion), equivalent to 2.1 percent of GDP. In addition, China's foreign trade value is expected to increase by 7.5 percent year on year. China's overall fixed asset investments in 2014 are expected to rise by 17.5 percent year on year.
