Increasing material prosperity is a key part of the ruling Communist Party's claim to legitimacy in China, where hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of poverty over the past three decades.
But the Chinese economy expanded 7.8 percent in 2012, its worst performance for 13 years, in the face of weakness at home and in key overseas markets after growth of 9.3 percent in 2011 and 10.4 percent in 2010.
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It picked up speed at the end of last year, increasing optimism among analysts that the 2013 figure will come in stronger, with some expecting it to reach eight percent or higher.
Nonetheless the government took a more conservative stance, as it often does -- the target is regularly exceeded in practice.
"We deem it necessary and appropriate to set this year's target for economic growth at about 7.5 percent, a goal that we will have to work hard to attain," Wen said in his "work report" to the opening of the National People's Congress, China's rubber-stamp parliament.
The figure was the same as the 2012 target. It had previously been set at around eight percent for seven straight years, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
Chinese authorities have vowed to change the country's economic structure, which for decades was led by exports and massive state-directed investments, into one more responsive to the growing needs of a consumer-driven society.
Wen re-iterated that message in his speech, saying: "We should energetically change the growth model."
Analysts said the 2013 growth target was no surprise and should be easily achievable.
"Currently, we are still at the beginning of the economic recovery, so for a new government, it will be their priority to maintain the momentum in the domestic economic recovery," Sun Junwei, a Beijing-based economist with British bank HSBC, told AFP.
Keeping last year's target "offers more room for policy reforms and lifting the quality of economic growth", she said.
Wen also said China planned to add about nine million jobs in urban areas to keep the official jobless rate there at or below 4.6 percent, and ensure that real per capita income for both urban and rural residents increases.
"It is necessary to increase spending to ensure and improve people's well-being and maintain support for economic growth and structural adjustment," Wen said.
A separate report issued by the Ministry of Finance said China would run an increased budget deficit of 1.2 trillion yuan ($193 billion) this year.
The figure is 400 billion yuan higher than last year's deficit and equal to about two percent of gross domestic product, the finance ministry report said.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which expects the economy to grow 8.1 percent this year, said the increase was welcome as part of a "proactive" fiscal policy.
China also set its inflation target for this year at 3.5 percent. The target is lower than last year's, which was set at 4.0 percent. China's actual inflation rate for 2012 came in well below that, at 2.6 percent.
"China is still under considerable inflationary pressure this year," Wen said, sounding the alarm on price rises.
Analysts were less concerned.
Sun said given that the current economic recovery was "relatively moderate", price increases were unlikely to get out of hand, and she expected the figure to be about three percent this year.
