Economy

China's GDP grows 9.6% in Q3, inflation picks up

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-10-21 12:24

Industrial value-added output year-on-year growth slowed to 13.3 percent in September from 13.9 percent in August, as a result of a higher comparison basis, and high energy-consuming manufacturers' production scaled down.

In the first nine months, fixed asset investment rose 24 percent year on year, retail sales increased 18.3 percent.

Sheng said despite the sound momentum, much hard work and realistic thinking was still needed as the economy was at a crucial transition point.

"The pace of the world's major economies's recovery are still faltering, and domestically, new problems propped up," he said.

He said the government would keep its macro-economic policy "consistent and stable," and make it more "targeted and flexible."

Related readings:  China's GDP grows 10.6% in first three quarters  China's retail sales up 18.3% in 1st 3 quarters  China's industrial output up 16.3% in Jan-Sept  China's fixed-asset investment up 24%  GDP ranking no reason to celebrate

"More efforts will be made to transform the economic development mode, deepen opening-up and reform, improve people's lives and ensure stable and relatively fast economic growth," he said.

China has just mapped out a blueprint for its social and economic development for the next five years, with the aim to achieve a "major breakthrough" in economic restructuring while maintaining "stable and relatively fast" economic growth.

The government is focusing less on growth rate figures and more on rebalancing the economy to make it less dependent on exports and investment and more reliant on domestic consumer spending.

Zhang Liqun forecasts full year GDP growth at between 9.5 percent and 10 percent.

Liu Wei, a professor at China Renmin University, expects growth to further slow in the fourth quarter on the back of less fixed-asset investment and weak exports, as the world's other major economies continue to grapple with a fragile economic recovery.