China should contain its government deficit and return to the fiscally conservative economic policies from before the financial turmoil sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a senior Chinese official speaking ahead of the annual meeting of the nation’s legislature.

The circumstances of last year were so exceptional that it made sense not to set a target growth rate, according to Yang Weimin, deputy director of the economic committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body to the government.

Athough some regions in China are still affected by the pandemic, the situation overall is under control, Yang said in an interview with China News Service.

China should set a target growth rate this year, because this would be in line with long-term national goals, including reaching a gross domestic product-per-capita of a moderately developed country by 2035, he said.

In order to reach the goal of doubling per-capita income by then, China must achieve an average annual GDP growth rate of 4.73%, Yang noted.

“Previously we doubled per-capita income over 10 years,” Yang said. “Now the rate has slowed, but the conditions and potential for doubling over 15 years are there.”

Last year, Chinese officials allowed for a budget deficit of 3.6% or more. There was no need to maintain that level of deficit his year, which can see a return to the standard of previous years, he said.

Levels of local government debt are relatively high, especially factoring in for so-called hidden debt, Yang said. How much this debt can be reduced may become clear during the “two sessions” meetings that take place in Beijing next week — of the CPPCC and the National People’s Congress, China’s rubber-stamp parliament.

During last year’s delayed two sessions in May, China announced an official budget deficit of 3.6%, an increase from the 2.8% recorded the year before, government data show.

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