In the wake of the unprecedented economic damage caused by the Coronavirus, debate has been intensifying in China as to whether China should set a growth target this year. A prominent adviser to China’s central bank has suggested the government drop a specific growth target for 2020. Ma Jun, an academic member of the People’s Bank of China’s monetary policy committee, told the state-owned Economic Daily that “China can hardly achieve the 6 per cent target because of the coronavirus pandemic. It is also hard to maintain 4-5 per cent growth … because it will largely depend on how the pandemic develops in Europe and the United States.” In contrast, Yu Yongding, one of China’s most influential economists and a former central bank adviser, recently (April 3) added his voice to the discussion, urging the government to stick with its tradition of issuing a numerical goal for expansion in gross domestic product (GDP), even if it is a low one. The government has not officially released its GDP growth target for 2020.