Sri Lanka, March 5 -- China unlocked more fiscal stimulus on Wednesday, promising greater efforts to support consumption and cushion the impact of an escalating trade war with the United States on an economy that Beijing is determined to grow by another 5%-or-so this year.

Premier Li Qiang, in a speech at the opening of the annual meeting of China's parliament, warned that "changes unseen in a century are unfolding across the world at a faster pace".

"An increasingly complex and severe external environment may exert a greater impact on China in areas such as trade, science, and technology," Li said.

The trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is threatening China's economic jewel, its sprawling industrial complex, a...