BEIJING, China-- China's National People's Congress -- the marquee event of the nation's political calendar -- convened Thursday in Beijing, with Premier Wen Jiabao pledging economic growth amid a growing national deficit and the global financial crisis.
Wen, who delivered his Cabinet's work report to the parliament's 3,000 delegates, said China would be able to achieve an 8 percent growth in the economy.
"As long as we adopt the right policies and appropriate measures and implement them effectively, we will be able to achieve this target," the report says.
The government deficit currently sits at 750 billion yuan ($109 billion) -- 570 billion yuan ($83 billion) more than last year, according to the report. That deficit is expected to grow.
"The global financial crisis continues to spread and get worse," Wen said. Watch how the economy will dominate this year's NPC »
The government has already acknowledged that 2009 will be "austere and complicated."
It officially says 20 million migrants are unemployed, and analysts think more jobs will be lost. China's exports have tumbled as the economic downturn has taken hold. The communist government has already approved a $586 billion stimulus plan, and there's talk of more.
Three thousand delegates from across the country and overseas represent China's central leadership, the military, every province, including minority groups such as Tibetans, and overseas Chinese.
Also on the agenda is landmark social security legislation to be considered, including universal unemployment and retirement benefits as well as health care. If implemented, it would mark a major change in the nation's social welfare system.
"Even if they were to put in place the world's greatest social security system and the world's greatest health services tomorrow, it will still take many, many years of testing the system before it has enough credibility to change household consumption patterns," Michael Pettis, a professor of finance at Peking University, said of ongoing attempts to stimulate the Chinese economy.
The congress will also debate a law that would require officials to publicly declare their assets -- part of a long-term campaign by the Communist Party to fight corruption.
Ahead of the meeting, the congress announced a 15 percent increase in its budget for China's quickly modernizing military.
In the past, the congress has been criticized as a political show, essentially a rubber-stamp parliament. But in recent years discussion and debate have crept in.
"They have a lot of work" to do, Pettis said. "China needs to make the transition from an export-oriented economy to a domestic-market economy, and the historical evidence suggest that it is very, very difficult and it takes a long time."
China is on guard against possible social unrest during a year filled with sensitive anniversaries and rising unemployment. March marks the 50th anniversary of an uprising in Tibet. June marks the 20th anniversary of the Chinese military's crackdown in Tiananmen Square. October marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the nation.
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