China able to achieve major economic targets this year: Premier

Reuters
China's Premier Li Keqiang is seen as he pays a courtesy visit to Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong (not pictured) at the Party Central Committee Office in Hanoi, October 14, 2013. REUTERS/Luong Thai Linh/Pool

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has the basic foundations to meet its major economic targets this year and the upward trend of the economy will continue, Premier Li Keqiang was quoted as saying in remarks published on Tuesday. Li made the comments in a media conference during an official visit to Vietnam. They were reported by the official Xinhua news agency. The Chinese government has set an annual target of 7.5 percent growth for its gross domestic product in 2013. Li was also quoted as saying the country has the necessary means to control consumer inflation at a level around 3.5 percent for this year, the official goal. (Reporting by Aileen Wang and Jonathan Standing)