BEIJING — Every March, China releases a closely watched growth target for the year, a number that looms large for the world’s economists, executives and policy makers. But a growing number of those experts are now calling for China to stop setting that goal, saying the target actually harms the economy and encourages officials to falsify data.

On Saturday, at the start of the National People’s Congress, the government announced a target for 2016 that acknowledges a worsening slowdown. It is a range, 6.5 percent to 7 percent economic growth over last year, rather than a number, suggesting that leaders are rethinking their adherence to hard-and-fast goals. Still, even the broader target is unlikely to reduce skepticism of official Chinese figures.

The government’s reading on the growth rate last year was 6.9 percent. The new target range means that leaders expect China’s growth could dip this year, which would further depress the global economic outlook.