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A world-renowned economist has described China's economic growth as "astonishing."
Shahid Javed Burki, chief executive Officer (CEO) with American Emerging Market Partnership (EMP) Financial Advisors Llc., said there are ample statistics indicating that China has completed the transformation process from a planned economy to a market economy while maintaining a high economic growth rate.
Burki made the remarks in his recent address to the Urban Cooperation and Development Forum in Tianjin, north China's major port city.
He said that the word "revolutionary" is appropriate to describe the astonishing achievements made by China in recent years.
However, China will have to tackle three problems if it wants to sustain its current economic growth, Burki told Xinhua.
According to him, the three problems are the reform of the banking system, the urban population issue and the stimulation of demand.
He emphasized that if China is able to overcome these problems, it has bright prospects for the future.
Statistics indicate that China absorbed 47 billion dollars of foreign direct investment in 2001, compared with 40 billion dollars in 2000.
By the end of June this year, China's foreign exchange reserves totaled about 247 billion dollars, placing it at the top of the Asian Emerging Economic Entity (AEEE).
Burki predicted that the proportion of China's Gross National Product (GNP) in the World Growth Product (WGP) is likely to rise from the current 10 percent to 25 percent by 2025, with GNP expected to reach 25 trillion dollars.
(Xinhua News Agency October 19, 2002)
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