Li Deshui, head of the Chinese National Bureau of
Statistics (NBS), said in Beijing Tuesday that China had
overcome the impact of the Asian financial crisis thanks to the
substantial measures it had taken to fight both inflation and
deflation over the past decade.
China's economic growth reached a seven-year high at 9.1 percent
in 2003, a rate the top Chinese top statistician referred to as a
milestone since the growth rate. This?is much higher than
estimated by many international analysts at the end of last
year.
In fact, the surge of industrial output turned out to be the
major driving force behind the rapid economic growth. NBS figures
showed the value turned out by the industrial sector last year
accounted for 71.6 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP),
contributing 6.5 percentage points to the 9.1 percent overall
economic growth.
NBS spokesman Yao Jingyuan acknowledged that heavy industry had
taken the lead in industrial growth, signifying the start of a
comprehensive upgrading of the economy. This meant the Chinese
economy was on a new stage of development.
On the demand side, a 26.7 percent surge in capital investment
constituted one of the main factors for the record economic growth.
As retail demand remained stable and export growth reached a new
high of 37 percent, the economy registered a strong performance
last year.
Li said the economy had entered a new era of growth as the per
capita GDP topped US$1,090 in 2003. The rise of consumer demand
would greatly spur the expansion of such industries as high-tech
manufacturing and electronics, automobiles, housing and
services.
Official statistics show China's car output amounted to over
2.07 million cars last year, up 80.7 percent over the previous
year. A total of 112 million people subscribed to new telephone
lines, equal to the populations of Britain and France combined.
China had 532 million telephone subscribers by the end of 2003,
more than the population in any other country worldwide except
India.
The government had done well in 2003, in terms of the
international recognized policy goals, namely economic growth,
inflation, employment and external balance.
China's consumer price index was 1.2 percent for the year. Newly
created jobs in urban areas totaled 8.5 million, exceeding the
envisioned annual target of 8 million. Meanwhile, the country
managed to retain a slight trade surplus and increased its foreign
exchange reserves to US$403.3 billion.
However, Li noted, the economy had seen overheating in some
sectors and areas of the country, a problem which should merit
attention.
Yao said structural problems were still around in the economy as
service industry accounted merely for 32 percent of GDP. There were
repetitive construction in industrial sectors such as steel,
automobiles, cement and electrolytic aluminum. The steel sector
needed restructuring, and China, one of the world's top steel
manufacturers, had to import about 30 million tons of steel yearly
due to lack of production capacity of upper-end products.
Yao further noted that the gap in income growth between
urbanites and rural residents widened last year. The disposable
per-capita income of urban residents grew 9.3 percent in 2003, five
percentage points faster than that of rural residents.
The vigor of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) was yet
to develop, he said. Official figures showed the output of large
enterprises rose by 17 percent last year, higher than that of
SMEs.
To tackle these problems, the government had decided to invest
more in developing infrastructure in rural areas and raising the
incomes of farmers. Official sources said some industrial sectors
had developed plans to curb blind investment in repetitive
capacity.
China would pursue inclusive, balanced and sustainable
development, instead of seeking growth at any cost, Li said,
predicting its economic growth rate this year would be lower than
in 2003. However, he voiced his confidence that the economy would
possibly grow more than seven percent
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(Xinhua News Agency January 21, 2004)