Economy up 7.6% in first quarter
( 2002-04-18 10:35) (1)
The Chinese economy grew a year-on-year 7.6 per cent to 2,102 billion yuan (US$253.3 billion) during the first quarter of this year, Deputy Director Qiu Xiaohua of the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.
The achievement was the result of governments at all levels working very hard to expand domestic demand, speed up economic restructuring and actively develop an export-oriented economy, Qiu said at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office.
During the first quarter of this year, State-owned companies and non-State-owned companies with annual sales of more than 5 million yuan (US$602,000) generated 649.4 billion yuan (US$78.2 billion) in output value, an increase of 10.9 per cent compared with figures for the same period of last year.
Fixed assets investment reached 467.2 billion yuan (US$56.3 billion), a year-on-year increase of 19.6 per cent.
"The economy started off well during the first quarter and laid a good foundation for reaching this year's economic growth target of 7 per cent," Qiu said.
During the January-March period, total foreign trade came in at US$122.1 billion, an increase of 7.7 per cent compared with that for the same period last year.
Actual foreign direct investment reached US$10.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 27.5 per cent.
"But there are a few problems that need attention, most importantly the decline in prices," Qiu said.
China's consumer price index (CPI), the policy maker's key inflation gauge, dropped 0.6 per cent during the first quarter.
For the month of March, the CPI fell 0.8 per cent year-on-year, he said. The drop in CPI was mainly because overall supply and demand are still unbalanced, Qiu said.
Investigations by relative government departments found that more than 80 per cent of domestically made products were in oversupply.
A price drop in ex-factory prices for industrial products resulting from the price drop of fuel and raw materials on the international market also contributed to the CPI drop, Qiu said.
But the drop in CPI during the first quarter did not mean the Chinese Government would adjust the previously-set CPI growth target of 1 to 2 per cent for this year, he said.
Beginning in April, because of unrest in the Middle East, oil prices may pick up ... and the CPI may change," he said.
"Looking into the future, though we are facing some difficulties, and the recovery of the world economy still faces uncertainties ... as long as we stick to the opening up and reform policies, speed up structural adjustment, and try our best to expand domestic and international demand, the Chinese economy will continue to develop at a fast pace," Qiu said.
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