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China predicts 9.3 percent economic growth
China's economy will grow by 9.3 percent this year, the government forecast Thursday, amid efforts to tame the economic boom. China's gross domestic product for 2004 is forecast to increase to 13.4 trillion yuan, said the State Information Center. Meanwhile, the National Statistics Bureau said that the producer price index, a leading indicator for consumer price movements, jumped at an annual rate of 8.4 percent in October. The index, which measures the cost of goods used in production, rose 7.9 percent year-over-year in September. The bureau cited higher prices for crude oil, coal, steel and nonferrous metal prices as major factors behind the rise. China's consumer price index, the country's main indicator for inflation, rose 5.2 percent in September, remaining near a seven-year high. The figure for October has not yet been released. The government has sought to curb bank lending to property developers and ordered local governments to reduce construction projects, hoping to rein surging investment that is fueling inflation. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce reported that China recorded a trade surplus in October of US$7.1 billion, the sixth straight month of surpluses. However imports also grew faster than expected, underpinned by rapid economic expansion. Imports in October totaled US$45.43 billion, up 29.3 percent from a year ago, while exports grew at a 28.5 percent annual rate to US$52.53 billion, it said. |
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