Ma's outline highlighted the peculiarities of China, where torrid economic growth sits alongside rising unemployment.
Ma said he expected joblessness to rise this year, to 4.7 percent from 4.3 percent last year. Millions in China have been thrown out of work each year as inefficient state companies shed excess workers.
Ma said China aims to check inflation at three percent and cap money supply growth at around 17 percent, a move meant to staunch a flood of money that helped push annual inflation to 3.2 percent in January, the highest level in nearly seven years.
Outlining other economic targets, Ma said China would work to "perfect the exchange rate mechanism" of the yuan while keeping the currency -- pegged at about 8.28 yuan to the US dollar -- basically stable.
Total foreign trade was targeted for an 8 percent rise, Ma said without detailing exports and imports. Last year, China's exports jumped nearly 35 percent. Imports soared almost 40 percent.
RSS