CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY CONGRESS

China's National People's Congress opened today with Premier Wen Jiabao promising aggressive stimulus measures to help the country through the global recession. Wen set a target growth rate of 8 percent for the year, down from 9 percent last year and 13 percent in 2007. Wen did not specify exactly how the additional $586 billion in stimulus would be spent, though Wen did promise measures to boost domestic demand and stimulate consumer spending. Asian markets gained on news of China's new spending.

Wen also said his country is willing to open negotiations with Taiwan on political and military matters due to recent "major breakthroughs" in cross-strait relations. Again, Wen did not go into the specifics of when or how these talks would be conducted.
THE FP MORNING BRIEF 05.03.09