The forecast slackening in overall trade add to a flurry of soft Chinese data since July and is likely to reinforce market expectations for more near-term support measures to revitalise the flagging economic recovery
There was also no target for job creation over the next five years, though the government said China's urban survey-based jobless rate will be kept under 5.5%.
However, the state-run Securities Times in a front-page commentary urged investors not to over-exaggerate the impact of the central bank's short-term liquidity operations on stock and bond markets.
"It's possible to shift from stabilising leverage to reducing leverage if the recovery reaches a certain stage, but we should not rush," said Jia Kang, head of the China Academy of New Supply-side Economics.
Closer to home, a gauge of Australian consumer sentiment hit a 10-year high in a sign domestic activity will remain strong in the final quarter of 2020 after a stellar third-quarter.