Despite an ambitious growth target of „around five percent“ and aid promises for the struggling real estate sector, the annual government report at the start of the People’s Congress in Beijing failed to lift the mood in China’s economy. The markets’ initial reaction to the government plans for this year presented by Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday was sobering. While the Shanghai Composite Index made a slight gain by the close of trading, there was a veritable sell-off in Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng Index lost 2.6 percent.