Book your ticket to happiness with Sun Express Airlines. This is C B.S. I and the world. I'm John Bachelor. Joseph Sternberg,

member of the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal.

He's based in London, he writes political economics, examining the People's Republic of China's

troubled economy.

For some time now, the news reports are not positive for the people of China. The property values have declined. The

word deflation is used. The debt is enormous, and the consumers are

hesitant or frightened. However, what is to be done? We have a headline in these

last hours, China sets high bar for growth, writes the Wall Street Journal, and turns to an old crisis

playbook. The statement from the Chinese Premier, this is the man in charge of the economy,

Lee Chang. Achieving this year's targets will not be easy,

so we need to maintain policy focus,

work harder, and mobilize the concerted efforts of all sides.

Joe, a very good evening to you.

That translates into, gee, 5% seems ambitious. What is that growth target of 5% represent?

A aspiration, a fact, a confirmation that they've achieved something that is positive?

Wasn't it 5% last year? Good evening to you, Joe.

Hi, John. I mean, at this point, I think that a 5% growth target in China is very, very ambitious. Now, the thing to understand about these targets is that

Beijing will find a way to meet the target if they conclude that it is important.

And in fact, I think that they just about hit the 5% target

that they hit last year, you know, that they had set for last year

if you look at the official data.

But as I mean, you and me and plenty of your other guests

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