China keeps 2013 GDP growth target unchanged at 7.5%

China keeps its 2013 gross domestic product (GDP) growth target unchanged at around 7.5 percent this year to leave some leeway for economic restructuring, according to a government work report to be delivered by Premier Wen Jiabao at the annual legislative session Tuesday.

The growth target aims to boost job creation and improve people's well-being, reads the report.

This marks the second consecutive year for the world's second-largest economy to target growth at 7.5 percent. In 2012, the government cut the forecast rate for the first time in eight years from a longstanding annual goal of 8 percent.

"In light of comprehensive considerations, we deem it necessary and appropriate to set this year's target for economic growth at about 7.5 percent, a goal that we will still have to work hard to attain," reads the report.

China's economic growth eased further to a 13-year low of 7.8 percent in 2012, from 9.2 percent in 2011 and 10.3 percent in 2010.

In 2011, the government announced it targeted an average of 7 percent annual GDP growth in the years of 2011-2015, or the country's 12th Five-Year Plan period.