China’s government has set a target for GDP to grow “around 5.5 percent” this year — its lowest goal in decades — the country’s premier said Saturday, as it faces virus outbreaks, a property slump and uncertainty over war in Ukraine.

Premier Li Keqiang announced the target in a speech to open China’s annual legislative session, saying “our country will encounter many more risks and challenges, and we must keep pushing to overcome them.”

The target was based on a need to maintain stable employment, basic living needs and “guard against risks”, according to his speech, which is China’s version of an annual state of the nation address.

Economic stability must be a “top priority”, Li added.

Growth in China’s maturing economy has slowed markedly in recent years from the boom phase triggered by market reforms four decades ago, during which annual expansion sometimes exceeded 10 percent.

More recently, it has grappled with the economic impact of a cascading property market slump, regulatory crackdowns on the property, tech and financial sectors, and virus outbreaks resulting in smothering containment measures under the government’s zero-tolerance approach to Covid.

China’s economy, a key driver of global growth, last year handily exceeded the official target of at least six percent growth, eventually expanding by 8.1 percent.

But much of that came in the first half, with the economy slowing to just four percent in the fourth quarter.

Beijing usually sets a target it feels it can exceed. It did not set one at all in 2020, when the impact of the then still-emerging coronavirus remained unknown.