China sets 2019 economic growth target at 6 to 6.5%

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China's top economic official announced a robust annual growth target and a 7.5 percent rise in military spending as China opened a legislative session Tuesday that has been overshadowed by a trade war with Washington.

In a bid to defuse U.S. and European trade complaints, Premier Li Keqiang pledged in a speech at the opening of China's national legislative session that foreign and local companies will be "treated as equals."

Li set this year's growth target at 6 to 6.5 percent. That is off slightly from last year's 6.6 percent growth, a three-decade low, but would be among the world's strongest if achieved.

The announcement reflects official determination to shore up slowing economic activity in the face of U.S. tariff hikes and cooling global demand.

Authorities are expected to use the congress to highlight measures intended to support economic growth including a possible tax cut and more support for entrepreneurs.

Legislators also are due to endorse a law that aims to ease tensions with Washington and Europe by discouraging officials from pressuring foreign companies to hand over technology. Spending on the ruling Communist Party's military wing, the People's Liberation Army, will rise to 1.2 trillion yuan ($178 billion), according to Li.

China's total military spending, the second-largest behind the United States, is estimated by independent experts to exceed $220 billion a year.