Related News
Doubts over truth of growth data ill-founded
Print Edition
CHINA’S top economic planner defended data authenticity yesterday in response to assumptions that the government may have distorted growth figures to make them look good, saying the claims were either “logically wrong” or “unreliable.”
Official data showed China’s economy grew 7 percent in the first half of the year, in line with the annual target, but some pessimists have claimed that real growth was much lower during the period.
The National Development and Reform Commission said in an online statement that there have been continuing doubts about China’s data accuracy since the country’s reform and opening-up, but those doubts have mostly been proven ill-founded.
The 7 percent rate in the first six months was largely in line with forecasts from major domestic and international research centers such as the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the World Bank, the statement noted.
Rejecting claims that the GDP rate has been overstated by 1 to 2 percentage points, the NDRC said slumping import prices have limited impact on China’s GDP calculation and the country now relies on the service industry for growth that consumes less global commodities.
To those that drew their lower forecasts from weak indicators such as power use and rail freight, the NDRC said China’s economic structure has undergone significant changes, making such indicators less reflective of economic activities.
The service industry contributed 49.5 percent of gross domestic product growth in the first half of the year, up 6.6 percentage points from that in 2007, the NDRC noted.
China’s 7 percent growth was solidly underpinned by stable economic fundamentals such as rising consumption, recovering investments and exports, as well as a steady job market, the NDRC concluded.
The latest statement came after another NDRC release on Tuesday that said the government has plenty of policy room and options to achieve its annual growth target of around 7 percent.
With a cooling property market and falling external demand amid a tepid global recovery, China’s economy has hit a soft patch. In addition, fresh pressure from capital market volatility this summer, currency devaluation in emerging markets and slumping global commodity prices are further muddying growth prospects.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
