Figures Show China Among World's Fastest Developed

Home>>Business

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, October 21, 2002

Figures Show China Among World's Fastest Developed

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recentlypublished a report titled "Sustainable, Sound Fast Growth of the Chinese Economy". Through analyzing figures in five aspects----overall national strength, industry development, infrastructure, foreign economic trade and life of residents, the report indicated that China's national economy has maintained a sustainable, fast and healthy growth and China has been among those nations that have experienced the fastest growth.

The NBS stated that, since the reform and opening up, China has achieved unprecedented high economic growth, continuously enhanced its overall national strength and incessantly rationalized its economic structure. Its GDP had risen to last year's 9.5933 trillion yuan from 362.4 billion yuan in 1978, registering an annual average growth of 9.4 percent in constant price, 6.1 percent up over the same period of the world's average. Though faced with a complicated environment 1989-2001at home and abroad, rapid economic growth was reported, with an annual average growth rate of 9.3 percent to show 6.1 percentage points higher than the world's average, placing China among those with a growth rate of the world fastest.

With respect to industry development, the NBS held that, at present the three major industries are developing comprehensively, and a buyer's market has basically shaped up. Agriculture has been in steady growth. Last year saw an increase of 1.461 trillion yuan of agricultural increment, 1.85 times over 1978, up 60 percent over 1989. By the end of last year, China had by its grain, cotton, rapeseed, fruit, pork, beef and mutton led the yields of like crops abroad, while relations of grain's supply and demand turned roughly balanced. From 1979 to 2001, the industrial increment grew at an annual average rate of 11.5 percent and jumped to 4.2607 trillion yuan last year. By its major industrial products as color TV, coal, cement, chemical fertilizer and steel China had also been atop the others of the world by the end of 2000.

From 1978 to 2001, investment in basic industries and infrastructure construction totaled 6.7793 trillion yuan, infrastructure being progressively perfected and impetus of economic development being constantly strengthened. The two largest water conservancy projects, the Three Gorges project on the Yangtze River and the Xiaolangdi project on the Yellow River, have fulfilled damming and have been by now at a time of construction peak, among which, the Xiaolangdi project began to generate electricity. And the world's hugest water-pumping and energy-storage power station----Guangzhou energy-storage hydropower station has been completed; and the whole Jinghu Highway, the first state arterial highway with a total length of 1,262 kilometers, has been linked up. Furthermore, communication facilities of post and telecommunication also show a rapid development, with the coverage areas expanding quickly. Last year over 100 million people already took to mobile communication, a figure leading the world.

As the scale of foreign trade expands progressively, China's status in world trade has been raised unceasingly. Last year's total volume of exports and imports hit over US$500 billion, jumping to the 6th following the US, Germany, Japan, France and Britain from the 25th in 1978. Real foreign direct investment stood at over 49.7 billion, while eight tenths of the world Top 500 have invested in China. By now, the country has come to have a foreign exchange reserve over US$212.2 billion, ranking world's second.

With the improvement of China's comprehensive national strength and residents' living standards, China has basically entered a fairly comfortable society. The NBS noted that, in 1978 rural residents in China only had a per-capita net income of 134 yuan but against these were 2366 yuan last year, enough to get adequate food and clothing. As for urban residents, the per-capita disposable income stood at 6868 yuan in the way they have come to enjoy a well-off life.

However China's economic development still comes up against some difficulties and problems, said NBS officials. These are as shown by an irrational economic structure with low quality resulted, widening income gaps between urban and rural areas, regions and various social strata, the weighing load of backward social security on some residents' life, and challenges as raised from the drive for environmental protection and sustainable development. Thus NBS officials call for grave attention and serious settlement by authoritative departments concerned in China.

By PD Online Staff Zhu Lizhen

Questions?Comments? Click here

Per-Capita GDP Expected to Hit US$1000 by Year's End

China's GDP up 7.9 Percent in Jan-Sept This Year: NBS

>> Full Coverage

China's Oil Security Faces Tests of War ( 4 Messages)

Historic Achievements Gained in China's Science and Technology ( 5 Messages)

Why Does India Withdraw Troops from Pakistan ( 2 Messages)

Economist on China's Sustainable Economic Growth ( 2 Messages)

Powell Expects Improvement of US-China Relations ( 6 Messages)