Targets usually correlate with goals eventually adopted at the central level[BEIJING] Over a dozen Chinese provinces have reduced their economic growth targets for 2026, pointing to a likely downgrade of the national goal for the first time in four years. Most of the 20 regions that have so far made their plans public are setting out lower targets for expansion in gross domestic product from last year, based on local government work reports. The vast majority, including economic powerhouses Guangdong and Zhejiang, brought their goals down by 0.5 percentage point or shifted to a range with a lower end. The decisions announced around the country this month may validate expectations that Chinese policymakers will also set the national GDP growth target a notch lower this year, after maintaining it at “around 5 per cent” for three straight years. Meanwhile, net exports contributed a third of economic growth in 2025, the highest level since 1997, official data showed.