BEIJING, Jan 21 (Reuters) - China will be able to achieve economic growth of around 5.5% in 2022, an adviser to the government's cabinet said on Friday, making a rosier prediction than markets expect as recent data have pointed to slowing momentum.
The world's second-largest economy cooled over the course of last year and faces multiple headwinds as a property downturn hurts investment and China's efforts to contain local cases of the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19 weigh on consumption.
That has prompted policymakers to roll out an array of support measures, including Friday's cut by the central bank in the rate on standing lending facility (SLF) loans by 10 basis points, a day after it cut benchmark lending rates.
Friday's comments by Zhu Guangyao, a former vice finance minister, are more optimistic than those from private economists.
A Reuters poll of analysts published on Jan. 13 forecast China’s economy would grow 5.2% in 2022.
Read More at https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/china-can-achieve-economic-growth-around-55-2022-cabinet-adviser-2022-01-21/