| |
 |
China to post 7.3pc growth rate
|
CHINA'S economy is forecast to grow by 7.3 per cent in 2001 and 7.5 per cent in 2002, according to the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) released in Beijing on Wednesday by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
“China's economy maintained a hefty growth of 8.1 per cent in the first quarter. China saw a fast growth of farmers' incomes, an acceleration of industrial production and a surge in the fiscal revenue," said Tang Min, chief economist with ADB.
“All these growth figures were even better than we had expected," he stressed.
But the growth is likely to slow down in the next three quarters, due to the global economic slowdown, oil price hikes and reduced gains from reforms of Chinese State-owned enterprises, he pointed out, adding that salary increases, however, may contribute significantly to GDP growth as it will stimulate domestic consumption.
The ADO's gross domestic growth (GDP) projections for this year and 2002 represent an easing off from the eight per cent achieved in 2000.
“Domestic consumption will remain strong. But rising oil prices will push up production costs, and food prices could also rise slightly in the first half of 2001 after a fall in grain production in the second half of 2000," according to the report.
With a pickup in domestic consumption and economic growth, the deflationary trend of 2000 will be reversed, the report adds. Inflation is likely to reach 22.5 per cent in 2001-2002.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) will increase by a large margin this year, and is expected to contribute four percentage points to this year's GDP growth, the report forecasts.
Export growth is forecast to drop to about 10 to 15 per cent in 2001-2002, as the global economy slows.
The ADO sees China's imports continuing to grow faster than exports in the next few years, in the wake of China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the liberalization of trade policies, including fewer tariff and non-tariff barriers.
China's entry into the WTO, with its commitments to cut tariffs, liberalize trade and investment, and open domestic sectors to foreign participation, will lead to significant efficiency gains, more competition, and wider consumer choice, the ADO says.(Xinhua)
|
|
|
|
