(As written for My Paper on 6 March 2012. Click here to enlarge)

In the strongest signal yet to reduce reliance in exports and capital spending in favour of consumption, China’s Premier Wen Jiabao set the pace for this year’s growth at 7.5%.

The announcement was made yesterday during the state-of-the-nation speech delivered to 3,000 lawmakers at the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress in Beijing.

Since 2004, China has aimed for 8% growth for the last eight years straight. As a recap, GDP growth for 2010 came in at 10.4% while 2011 recorded a growth of 9.2%. While still ahead of the 8% benchmark, the numbers have been steadily dropping the last couple of years. Read more…