| Saturday, November 10, 2001, updated at 11:57(GMT+8) |
China's Economic Growth to Slow Down Next Year: ADB |
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China's economy is predicted to grow by 7 percent next year, according to the Asian Development Outlook 2001 (ADO) released here Friday by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
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China's economy is predicted to grow by 7 percent next year, according to the Asian Development Outlook 2001 (ADO) released here Friday by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
This is 0.5 percentage points lower than the predication the ADB made in April this year.
This year's gross domestic product (GDP) growth is expected to top 7.3 percent as the the last quarter's growth may slow down, said the ADO, a publication analyzing and forecasting economic trends in Asia.
The September 11 terrorist attack in the United States is likely to cast its shadow on the Chinese economy in the last quarter of this year and the first half of next year, said Tang Min, chief economist of the ADB Resident Mission in China.
The country's export growth may drop to 6 percent this year and 4 percent in 2002 as global demands shrink, he added.
However, the ADO believed that China would still maintain a favorable growth next year as investment remains strong due to large public investment programs and a high level of foreign direct investment inflows.
The ADO also predicted that China's consumption growth will remain buoyant as residents' incomes rise, and public servants' salaries go up.
China has witnessed a stable economic growth in the first nine months of this year as robust domestic demand and foreign direct investments have off-set the negative impact from export reduction and global economic slowdown, Tang Min said.
Foreign investment increases will continue to make up for the would-be decline in the current account surplus next year as the country is expected to open wider to foreign participants post WTO entry, said the ADO.
The current account surplus will come down to 0.9 percent of GDP this year and narrow further to 0.3 percent next year, according to the ADO.
"The Chinese Government has the challenge of pulling the country through the reform after entry into the WTO and of reducing poverty by promoting development in poor areas and in the
private sector," said the ADO.
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