China's economic growth was strong and steady for the first
three quarters of the year, said National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) spokesman Zheng
Jingping at a press conference held on Friday in Beijing.
Preliminary calculations put the country's gross domestic
product at 9.3 trillion yuan (US$1.1 trillion) for the
January-September period, a rise of 9.5 percent year-on-year, or
0.6 percentage points higher than the same period of last year.
Agricultural added value reached 1.3 trillion yuan (US$152.4
billion), up 5.5 percent, while industrial added value jumped 10.9
percent to 5.2 trillion yuan (US$623.9 billion) and that of the
service sector rose 8.5 percent to 2.9 trillion yuan (US$350.7
billion).
Total investment in fixed assets from January to September was
4.5 trillion yuan (US$543.4 billion), an increase of 27.7 percent
year-on-year. This was a drop of 15.3 percentage points from
first-quarter growth and of 0.9 percentage point from the first
half, Zheng said.
Growth in investment in some overheated industries dropped
markedly. Total investment in the first three quarters in the steel
and cement sectors plummeted 65.5 and 43.4 percentage points,
respectively, compared with the first quarter. Investment in
aluminum processing and manufacturing decreased 6.5 percent
year-on-year, a sharp slowdown from the 39.3 percent growth
recorded in the first quarter this year, Zheng said.
Investment in real estate climbed 28.3 percent, a slowdown of
12.8 percentage points from the first quarter.
A sharp 21.4 percent increase appeared in investment in
agriculture, forestry, fisheries and stockbreeding, up 21
percentage points compared with the first quarter.??
The 9.7 percent increase in consumption in the first three
quarters this year is encouraging, said Zheng. The figure was 0.6
percentage point above that for the same period last year.
"We hope for a consumption-driven economy," Zheng said, adding
that yearly consumption growth ranges between 9 and 10 percent.
"We feel it is encouraging to have such an increase in
consumption," Zheng said.
Meanwhile, added industrial output value came in at 3.9 trillion
yuan (US$472.8 billion) for the first three quarters, up 17 percent
year-on-year. Heavy industry reported an 18.5 percent increase in
added industrial output value, while the growth rate for light
industry was 15.4 percent.
The statistics are compiled from figures for firms whose annual
sales revenues are 5 million yuan (US$609,000) and above.
These Chinese companies also reported income statement
improvements for the period. They booked 808.8 billion yuan
(US$98.6 billion) in profit, up 39.8 percent, and their ratio of
production to sales was 97.8 percent, up 0.2 percentage
points.?
Zheng Jingping said that surging oil prices will have a limited
impact on the Chinese economy.
In the first nine months of this year, China exported 4.3
million tons of crude oil valued at US$1 billion and imported 90
million tons with a value of US$23.6 billion.
If the oil price is up US$10 a barrel and the hike lasts one
year, China's consumer price index would climb 0.3 to 0.4
percentage points, he said. China is an oil importer, he said, but
also an oil producer, with an annual output of 170 million
tons.
Zheng said there is only a small possibility that oil prices
will continue to rise from current levels, but China should monitor
price trends and take precautions against fluctuations.
Real estate prices overall climbed 13.4 year-on-year and those
of residential housing 11.5 percent in the first nine months.
Continued "very strong" demand, together with higher land and
materials costs, is driving up prices, according to
Zheng,?
Since April, the central government has tightened controls on
the use of land. According to the Economic Information Daily, land
prices increased 11.6 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, up
1.3 percent over the second quarter.
Zheng said that the government will continue to monitor real
estate prices and discourage sharp rises.
Turning to agriculture, Zheng said that China expects total
grain output this year to increase substantially from 2003.
Early rice output reached 32.1 billion kilograms, up 8.8
percent, following the 4.8 percent growth in summer grains.
Zheng attributed the improvements to the central government's
efforts to support agricultural production and incentives for
growing grain crops.?
(Xinhua News Agency October 22, 2004)