Other targets

Li said China will pursue a more proactive fiscal policy this year, with the deficit to GDP ratio for this year set at around 4 percent. An "appropriately accommodative" monetary policy will be adopted, he said.

The country will also strive to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by around 3.8 percent.

China will also make efforts to nurture emerging industries, such as integrated circuits, aviation and aerospace, and industries of the future, such as future energy, quantum technology and embodied AI.

Efforts will be made to expand market access and opening-up in areas such as value-added telecom services, biotechnology and wholly foreign-owned hospitals this year, the government work report said.

Zhang Zhouxiang in Brussels, Zhou Lanxu in Beijing and Xinhua contributed to this story.