Industrial output jumped 18.5 percent last year, or 1.9
percentage points more than in 2006, Xie Fuzhan, director of the
National Bureau of Statistics, said on Thursday.
Output at companies with annual revenue of at least 5 million
yuan (691,600 US dollars) expanded 17.4 percent in December,
compared with 17.3 percent in November.
Industrial output and gross domestic product (GDP) could both
expand more slowly this year as the sub-prime crisis and a
potential recession in the United States could reduce demand for
Chinese exports, according to Zhang Liqun, a researcher at the
Development Research Center of the State Council.
Industrial output growth decelerated from September onward, as
the government's tightening measures took effect. The year-on-year
growth figures for September and October were 18.9 percent and 17.9
percent, respectively.
Output growth rates were 13.8 percent for state-owned
enterprises and organizations in which the state holds controlling
stakes and 17.5 percent for foreign-, Hong Kong-, Macao- and
Taiwan-invested businesses, Xie told a press conference in
Beijing.
The rates for heavy and light industry were 19.6 percent and
16.3 percent, respectively.
(Xinhua News Agency January 24, 2008)
