中国总理李克强表示，他的政府不会“死守”7%的今年经济增长目标，他是在北京方面12个月来第六次降息的当天发表此言的。
Chinese premier Li Keqiang has said his government will not "defend to the death" its goal of 7 per cent economic growth this year — a day after Beijing cut interest rates for the sixth time in 12 months.
李克强发表此言之际，也正值中共十八届五中全会将在周一开幕，会上将制定下一个五年计划（中国经济的蓝图）。全会期间宣布的人事任命和政策将反映各派系之间竞相影响下一代领导人的角力。
Mr Li's remarks come before Monday's opening of a Communist party gathering that will shape the upcoming five-year plan, a blueprint for the economy. Personnel appointments and policies decided during the plenum will reflect the competition among factions for influence over future generations of leaders.
中国的官方统计数据显示，第三季度经济增长下滑至6.9%，这是自2009年全球金融危机最严重时期以来的最低点。其他指标如钢铁消费量或用电量似乎表明，重工业和制造业的疲弱更为严重（这两个经济部门曾多年拉动中国经济），尽管官方采取了放松信贷和刺激投资的措施。
China's official statistics showed growth sliding to 6.9 per cent in the third quarter, the lowest since 2009 during the depths of the global financial crisis. Other indicators such as steel consumption or electricity use suggest even greater weakness in the heavy industry and manufacturing that for years served as the engine of China's economy, despite efforts to loosen credit and stimulate investment.
全年增长可能下滑至1990年以来的最慢速度，那是中国镇压学生和工人抗议后的次年，那场风波几乎搅乱了经济改革，并导致外商投资大幅减少。虽然当今的中国经济比25年前规模大得多，也复杂得多，但经济增长目标仍具有象征意义上的重要性，北京的许多人对它们越来越低感到不安。
Growth for the full year is likely to slip to the slowest pace since 1990, the year after China's crackdown on student and worker protests nearly derailed economic reforms and caused foreign investment to dry up. Although the Chinese economy now is far larger and much more complex than 25 years ago, the growth targets carry a symbolic importance and many in Beijing are uncomfortable as they tick lower.
“我们从来没有讲过要死守某一个点，而是让经济运行保持在合理区间，”中国媒体援引李克强在中央党校发表的讲话称。中央政府网站在周末的一篇报道中转述了他的这次讲话。中央党校为执政的共产党培养官员。
“We have never said that we should defend to the death any goal, but that the economy should operate within a reasonable range,” Mr Li was quoted as saying in a speech to the Central Party School that trains officials in the ruling Communist party. His speech was paraphrased in a report posted on the central government's website this weekend.
中国央行副行长易纲上周六在一个会议上表示，中国能够在未来三到五年保持6%至7%的增长，他称这样的增长率“很正常”。
Yi Gang, vice-governor of the People's Bank of China, told a conference on Saturday that China would be able to keep growth at 6-7 per cent for the next three to five years, a rate he called “very normal”.
李克强和其他经济改革者长期主张告别苏联式计划经济时代遗留下来的刻板数字目标。但是，党在采纳他青睐的某个百分比“左右”的增长目标与恢复绝对值目标之间举棋不定。
Mr Li and other economic reformers have long argued for a departure from the strict numerical goals that are a holdover from the days of China's Soviet-style planned economy. But the party has wavered between adopting his preferred formula of a target of growth at “about” a certain percentage and falling back on absolute targets.
许多地方官员更喜欢绝对值目标，因为那样更容易衡量他们是否达到了自己的政绩指标。GDP增长是党评判地方官员政绩的主要指标之一（另一个指标是平息任何社会不安定）。
Many local officials prefer absolute targets that make it easier to measure whether they have met their performance goals. GDP growth is one of the primary targets by which local officials' performance is judged by the party, alongside quashing any social unrest.
中国经济的传统部门正受到严重产能过剩的打击，同时工资水平不断上升，企业和地方政府都不堪高债务水平的重负。然而，中国的服务业一直在增长，目前大约占国民经济的半壁江山。
Traditional sectors of the Chinese economy are being hit by crushing overcapacity, wages are rising and corporation and local governments are suffering due to high levels of debt. However, China's service sector has been growing and now accounts for about half of the nation's economy.