- Title: China's 2017 GDP growth accelerates for first time in 7 years
- Date: 18th January 2018
- Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (JANUARY 18, 2018) (REUTERS) HEAD OF NATIONAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS NING JIZHE ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE MEDIA SITTING, CAMERAS RECORDING NEWS CONFERENCE, CAMERAMEN STANDING (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) HEAD OF NATIONAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS, NING JIZHE, SAYING: "Initial calculations (are that) the annual gross domestic product was 82.7122 trillion yuan. According
- Embargoed: 1st February 2018 11:04
- Keywords: China GDP China economy Chinese economy Chinese economic data China GDP data China 2017 economic data Renminbi
- Location: BEIJING AND ZHUHAI, CHINA
- City: BEIJING AND ZHUHAI, CHINA
- Country: China
- Topics: Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA0017YN1EVH
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:China's economy grew faster than expected in the fourth quarter of 2017, as an export recovery helped the country post its first annual acceleration in growth in seven years, defying concerns that intensifying curbs on industry and credit would hurt expansion.
The official growth figures released on Thursday (January 18) by the national bureau of statistics at a news conference in Beijing are welcome news for central government policymakers who are looking to cut debt and pollution in older industries without stunting growth in the world's second-largest economy.
China's gross domestic product grew 6.8 percent in the October to December period from a year earlier. That was better than the 6.7 percent growth forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll and unchanged from the previous quarter.
Several recent public revelations by regional governments of fraudulent government data have again raised doubts about the quality of China's economic numbers. Chinese provinces and cities have long been suspected of cooking up numbers, with the focus on local government officials, whose performance is often assessed based on how well their respective economies have performed.
The head of China's statistics bureau Ning Jizhe told reporters on Thursday that China will look into reports of irregularities in regional economic data, and will deal with any impropriety according to the law. In response to a question about the value of the Renminbi currency Ning said a stable yuan currency is good for China's trade and economy. The yuan strengthened 6.8 percent against the dollar in 2017, posting its best annual performance since 2008 and reversing three straight years of depreciation. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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