BEIJING - China's aim to grow its economy by 5.5 per cent this year is a target that it will have to work hard to hit, as the world's second-largest economy contends with its weak retail sector and a downturn in the property market.

Beijing also has to grapple with more global uncertainties as worries over how the coronavirus will further mutate and the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine continue to weigh on growth.