World woes dampen China GDP rise
China’s economy grew 6.1 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, expanding at the slowest pace on record as it was reined in by the global downturn.
But analysts interviewed yesterday said the GDP figure and other recently released economic data spark hope that China’s slowdown may be bottoming out, although they were divided on how long it will take before a recovery might kick in.
And some continued to caution that China’s return to double-digit growth can’t come until the global recession runs its course and the country’s exports pick up again.
China’s gross domestic product amounted to 6.57 trillion yuan (US$939 billion) in the first three months, posting a percentage rise that was the weakest since 1992 when quarterly figures began to be released. The country’s economy grew 9 percent last year, although it tailed off to a rise of only 6.8 percent in the final quarter.
The central government is targeting what it calls a “challenging but manageable” growth rate of 8 percent this year. Meanwhile, the World Bank forecasts 6.5 percent expansion.
The global financial crisis has led to deteriorating external demand and a drop in China’s exports, slumping corporate profits and worsening unemployment, Li Xiaochao, spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics, told a briefing in Beijing yesterday as the GDP figure was released.
The agricultural sector grew 3.5 percent in the first quarter, the industrial sector expanded 5.3 percent, and service industries rose 7.4 percent.
Tags: China Finance, economy, exports, GDP, NBSPages: 1 2
