UPDATE - China sees '03 GDP growth strong, near 8.0 pct
Tuesday February 18, 8:27 pm ET
Reuters
biz.yahoo.com
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BEIJING, Feb 19 (Reuters) - China's economy, Asia's best performer, is expected to grow nearly eight percent this year, fuelled by strong investment and reviving consumption, a top government official was quoted on Wednesday as saying.
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In the first reported forecast of this year's economic prospects by a senior Chinese official, Qiu Xiaohua, deputy head of the State Statistical Bureau, painted a rosy picture for 2003.
"China's GDP growth rate is expected to exceed seven percent in 2003 and approach the eight percent level," the China Securities Journal quoted Qiu as saying.
"The year 2002 is very likely to be a 'turning point' for China's macro-economy to leave the period of slowing growth behind. A clear trend this year is that an all-round recovery is being bred," he said.
China's economy grew a robust eight percent last year, driven by strong export growth and sustained state spending on infrastructure. Economic growth was 7.3 percent in 2001.
The government would speed up state enterprise and financial reforms reforms and take steps to boost rural incomes this year to help spur economic growth, he said.
China's exports growth in 2003 was likely to slow from the sizzling 22 percent growth last year, but growing investment and recovering consumption could help offset the impact, Qiu said.
Investment was likely to contribute more than three percentage points to GDP growth this year, while consumption could contribute four percentage points to the growth, he said.
In the latest sign the economy is growing powerfully, China said on Tuesday industrial output rose a robust 14.8 percent in January, propelled by soaring output of cars, computers and mobile phones.
The government has yet to announce economic growth for the fourth quarter of last year, but analysts say it was likely to be similar to the 8.1 percent rise in the third quarter.
The government aims for annual economic growth of seven percent between 2001 and 2005, viewed as the minimum level for creating enough jobs for laid-off state workers caused by the wrenching reforms and also for farmers seeking jobs in cities. ($1=8.277 Yuan) |
