China will struggle to hit growth target, says Wen Jiabao In his final "state of the union" speech, Wen Jiabao described the target, which was in line with last year's, as a "goal we will have to work hard to attain." Mr Wen also spoke of transforming the world's second-largest economy to one less dependent on exports by boosting domestic spending, as he acknowledged a "growing conflict between downward pressure on economic growth and excess production capacity." "We should energetically change the growth model and speed up structural adjustment of industry," Mr Wen said on Tuesday. We should enhance people's ability to consume. China's economy grew 7.8pc in 2012, the slowest pace in 13 years, and well below the double-digit rates of the past decade. However, the growth is in line with Communist Party plans to steer China away from reliance on trade and investment to drive growth. Mr Wen steps down next week after 10 years as China's top economic official. The goals he announced are part of a long-range plan incoming leaders under the newly installed party general secretary, Xi Jinping, are expected to follow. Data yesterday showed that China's services industry expanded at a slower pace in February, adding to signs that the country's recovery is moderating. The HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 52.1 from 54 in January, where any reading above 50 indicates expansion. A separate government-backed survey published on March 3 showed non-manufacturing industries expanded at the slowest pace since September. "Service sector growth moderated on slower demand growth in February, likely reflecting the impact of Beijing's recent frugality campaign as well as the greater volatility of the readings around Chinese New Year period," said Qu Hongbin, chief China economist for HSBC. Services may show "modest improvement" in coming months on a "healthy labour market" and recovering growth in manufacturing, Mr Qu said.