Chinese economy grows more than 7% in first 9 months
Today
Beijing, China
Tuesday, 20 October 2009, 5:55 am
China's economy expanded more than 7% in the
first 9 months of the year and will certainly
surpass the year's
growth target of 8%, a top economic official said yesterday.
China is due to release official third quarter economic data on Thursday but, in a briefing, Mr Xiong Bilin, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, told reporters yesterday the growth rate for January to September would be a bit above 7%.
"
Achieving a growth rate of 8% for the year is
basically no problem,'' he said.
Statistics for last month showed improving trade, housing sales, manufacturing and car sales. The data suggest resilience in retail sales and industrial production are helping offset the blow from falling exports.
Separately, Mr Yu Bin, a senior researcher with the Development Research Centre, told a conference at the weekend that economic growth was forecast to exceed 9% in the second half of the year, financial magazine Caijing reported yesterday. The upbeat comments helped lift China's Shanghai Composite Index yesterday to a 1-month high of 3,038.27, up 61.64 points or 2.1%.
Meanwhile, informal trade talks between Taiwan and China scheduled for this week have been delayed as Taipei officials will be busy answering Budget questions in Parliament. The negotiations are now likely to be put off until the end of the month, said Mr Huang Chih-peng, director of Taiwan's Bureau of Foreign Trade and the head of the island's delegation.
Local media have reported the talks are expected to set a timetable for formal discussions. Taiwan's administration hopes the negotiations will lead to a trade agreement, which it says could lift the island's economic growth by 1% point.