Premier Li Keqiang told the opening of the National People's Congress (NPC) parliament, the country's Communist-controlled legislature, that this year's growth target was "6.5 percent to 7 percent".
"Our policy toward Taiwan is clear and consistent, and it will not change along with the change in Taiwan's political situation", Xi was quoted as telling the delegates.
Tsai has repeatedly played down her party's pro-independence stance, promising that she will maintain peace with China and the cross-strait "status quo".
A Japanese colony for 50 years, Taiwan was reabsorbed by China in 1945, but then split apart again after Chiang Kai-shek's defeated Nationalists moved their government to the island in 1949 after the Communist seizure of power on the mainland.
At the same time, Chinese leaders, wary of over-relying on foreign technology, will seek to boost China's homegrown industry and cut down on imports - a strategy that has drawn complaints from trade partners like the United States.
China will continue to be a growth engine for the world as it is unveiling a new round of opening up, featured by the Belt and Road Initiative, worldwide production capacity cooperation and infrastructure investment initiatives, he said.
He said China's economy, which grew 6.9 percent past year, was within "an appropriate range".
Obama proposed a SD 534-billion defense budget package for the 2016 fiscal year, about 3.6 times China's budget this year.
The People's Liberation Army is being trimmed to 2 million troops from 2.3 million but will still be the world's largest standing military.
"A lot of these problems they've been talking about for many years but nothing has come of it", he said. China has the world's biggest population of Internet users, and investors are pouring billions of dollars into developing online and smartphone-based ventures for food delivery, movie ticketing, travel and other services.
"We will promote domestic regional development and opening up and worldwide cooperation...to build overland economic corridors, maritime cooperation hubs and promote connectivity, economic and trade cooperation and cultural exchange", Li said in the work report. The International Monetary Fund expects this year's growth to drift down to 6.3 percent.
While Li used stronger words to reiterate mainland China's stance against Taiwan independence, he nevertheless cited a softer appeal previously made by mainland leader Xi Jinping when describing the two sides of the Taiwan Strait as belonging to the "same family". He promised that regulations would be made "more fair, transparent and predictable" to attract investment.
As China looks to trim bloated "zombie companies" in the steel and coal sectors, it's hoping high-tech companies will pick up the slack in economic output.
Li mentions two disasters that struck China this year, a cruise shipwreck in the Yangtze River and a massive chemical explosion in Tianjin, saying the deaths and injuries "were devastating and profound lessons can never be forgotten".
Delegates diligently studied the work report as he spoke, applauding regularly as if on cue.
The declining profits in some industries and losses in others increased the number of industrial firms facing difficulties resulting in layoffs and hidden unemployment pressures within the enterprises and industries, it said.
In particular, China has sustained a high rate of economic growth in the five years and secured milestone progress in structural adjustments, he said.
Source: China's Xi: contain moves toward formal Taiwan independence
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