CHINA: China third-quarter GDP up nine point four percent, stronger than expected

Record ID: 858375

  • Title: CHINA: China third-quarter GDP up nine point four percent, stronger than expected
  • Date: 20th October 2005
  • Summary: (ASIA) DALIAN, LIAONING PROVINCE, CHINA (FILE) (REUTERS) WIDE SHOT DOCK WITH CONTAINERS BEING LOADED (3 SHOTS)
  • Embargoed: 4th November 2005 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • City:
  • Country: China
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVACT032EHW2GI0NUSCARCY4NAB
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  • Story Text: China's third-quarter gross domestic product grew nine-point-four percent from a year earlier, slightly faster than expected, the statistics office said on Thursday (October 20, 2005).
    Spokesman Zheng Jingping said there was little sign of cooling amid strong industrial output and investment.
    "The above statistics demonstrate that the nation's economy has continued to develop towards the target of micro-regulation as a good momentum of steady and rapid growth is maintained," said Statistics Office spokesman Zheng Jingping (pron: djuhng jeeng peeng).
    It was the ninth successive quarter of annual growth of nine percent or higher for the world's seventh-biggest economy.
    It followed rises of nine-point-five percent in the second quarter and nine-point-four percent in the first.
    Zheng also outlined challenges to China's economic performance.
    "There are still problems existing in economic performance, including a weak foundation in agriculture holding back further improvement in grain production and farmers' incomes, an oversized and unbalanced structure of fixed-asset investment, a noticeable foreign trade imbalance, and a relatively big fall in profits in some industrial companies," said Zheng.
    Beijing is striving to maintain fast growth while rebalancing the mix by promoting domestic demand, especially consumption, in order to reduce China's reliance on investment and exports and stifle U.S. criticism of its swelling trade surplus.
    Zheng said trade protectionism was damaging growth in certain sectors.
    "Some of the free trade advocators and certain developed countries' governments, especially countries who have (damaged) industries, go against the free trade principle, take one-sided action to put restrictions into place. This is something we don't understand at all, and we don't want to see happening at all. Certain industries in our country are heavily affected," said Zheng.
    Washington recently resorted to emergency measures to curb an explosion of textile imports from China unleashed by the abolition of global textile quotas on Jan. 1.
    Zheng also said poor political relations with Japan would damage trade relations.
    "Undoubtedly, from a long-term perspective, if the political environment is not harmonious between China and Japan, then this offers no appropriate environment for trade between the two countries. So expecting the trade relationship to remain the same while the political relationship is not satisfying, is not very practical," said Zheng.
    China protested angrily when Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi paid homage on Monday (October 17) at a Tokyo shrine for war dead that its neighbours consider a symbol of Japan's 1931-45 invasion and occupation of parts of China.
    Many analysts question the reliability of Chinese statistics, which are not seasonably adjusted and which have a history of being massaged to meet political expectations.
    Beijing insists its figures are reliable but not does publicise its methodology.
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