NBS Statistical Communique on 2000 Economic and Social Development

The statistical communique on the 2000 national economic and social development was issued Wednesday, February 28, by the China National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

GDP Tops US$1,000 Billion

China's gross domestic product in 2000 was 8,940.4 billion yuan, up by 8 percent over the previous year in constant terms.

At the current exchange rate, the gross domestic product of China had topped US$1,000 billion, according to the statistical communique.

In 2000 governments at all levels implemented in real earnest a series of policies aiming at expanding domestic demand, as well as the pro-active financial policy and the solid monetary policy, and due attention was focused on cultural and ethical progress.

With the joint efforts made by people of all ethnic groups, national economic and social development achieved new progress; various targets of development and reforms were met. The main tasks of the "Ninth-Five-Year Plan" (1996-2000) program were fulfilled in an all round way.

In 2000, China's market prices were stable. The consumer price level of the year was up by 0.4 percent over the previous year, reversing the trend of declining for consecutive two years starting from 1998.

Work on employment was further strengthened. By the end of 2000, the total of employed people in China numbered 711.5 million, or 5.64 million more than at the end of 1999. Of the total, 212.74 million were employed in urban areas, an increase of 2.6 million persons over that at the end of 1999.

New progress was made in the implementation of reemployment project. By the end of 2000, the number of laid-off workers of State-owned enterprises was 6.57 million, an increase of 47,000 persons as compared with that at the end of 1999. In 2000, about 3.61 million laid-off workers found new jobs through various measures.

By the end of 2000, the urban unemployment rate through unemployment registration was 3.1 percent.

China's balance of payment in 2000 was in good position and the foreign exchange reserves continued to increase. The utilization of foreign capital was stable, with the actually used foreign direct investment reaching 40.7 billion US dollars, an increase of 400 million US dollars over the previous year.

The communique said that the size of favorable balance of foreign trade was narrowed down. The trade surplus of the year was 24.1 billion US dollars, a decrease of US$5.1 billion over the previous year. Foreign exchange reserves continued to increase. By the end of 2000, foreign exchange reserves reached US$165.6 billion, an increase of 10.9 billion US dollars as compared with that at the beginning of the year.

The exchange rate of RMB was stable, which stood at one US dollar for 8.2781 RMB yuan at the end of the year, an appreciation of 12 basic points.

China also saw noticeable improvement in its economic efficiency and the quality of economic performance. Following consecutive years of high growth, tax income kept a fairly fast growth. The total tax collected as government income of the year stood at 1,266 billion yuan, up 22.8 percent or 234.8 billion yuan from the previous year.

Profits made by industrial enterprises increased by a large margin, in particular, the profits made by State-owned and State- holding enterprises increased by a fast speed with its profits made reaching 239.2 billion yuan, or a 1.4 folds increase.

Meanwhile, the total losses by State-owned and State-holding loss-suffering enterprises were down by 26.7 percent over the previous year. The overall efficiency index for industrial enterprises was 117.8 percent, or 16.1 percentage points higher than the figure for the previous year, representing the highest level since 1992.

The communique also pointed out some major problems that remained in economic performance and social development, which included the still prominent irrational economic structure and the difficulties in life condition for some people due to the slow increase of farmers' income and the high pressure for employment.

Fast Growth Registered in Industrial Production

Fast growth was registered in China's industrial production in 2000, according to the communique.

In 2000, the total value-added of the industrial sector was 3, 957 billion yuan (US$476.75 billion), up 9.9 percent over the previous year. The value-added of state-owned and state-holding industrial enterprises and non-state-owned industrial enterprises with an annual sales income over five million yuan was 2,368.5 billion yuan (US$285.36 billion), up 11.4 percent.

Of the total, the value-added created by state-owned enterprises and joint-ownership enterprises where state held the controlling share was 1,403.2 billion yuan (US$168.06 billion), up 10.1 percent, representing the highest growth since 1994.

The value-added of light industry was 950.6 billion yuan (US$114.53), up 9. 5 percent, and that of heavy industry was 1,417.9 billion yuan (US$170.83 billion), up 13 percent.

Industrial structural adjustment made significant progress, said the communique. Fast growth was registered in the production of those products that enjoyed high technology and added value.

The output of new industrial products was up 26.3 percent over the previous year. Manufacturing of electronic and telecommunications products became the first pillar of the industry. The production capacity of equipment manufacturing industry improved to some extent.

Active progress was seen in controlling the total production by metallurgy industry. The output of steel for the whole year grew with slow speed and the prices for steel rose with significant improvement of profits.

The sugar refining industry, which had reported losses for four consecutive years, turned losses into profits through optimizing the structure of planting areas, adjusting and cutting down the outdated production capacity.

Undergoing three years of adjustment, the textile industry witnessed fast growth of profits in 2000, following the previous year's making up of the deficit.

The targets set for the reform of state-owned enterprises and lifting those enterprises out of difficulty had been met. The modern enterprise system was initially set up in most of the large and medium-sized SOEs.

The measures such as reorganization, combination and mergers promoted the transformation of operating mechanism of small SOEs and the improvement of their performance.

Analyzed by region, state-owned industry achieved overall deficit removing or profit making in 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government.

Analyzed by industry, the same result was also achieved by the end of 2000 in 12 industries out of the 14 major industries that were under the state-monitoring program. Over 70 percent of the 6, 599 large and medium SOEs that were suffering from losses at the end of 1997 either became profit-making or were merged or reorganized by the end of 2000.

The construction industry developed steadily, and the economic efficiency was turning for the better. In 2000, the value-added of construction enterprises was 591.8 billion yuan (US$71.3 billion), up 6.2 percent over the previous year. The total floor space of buildings under construction during the year was 1,551.75 million square meters, an increase of 79.13 million square meters.

Some 249 new mineral deposits were discovered through national land resources survey and geological surveys. Thirty-eight minerals were found to have increased reserves, including 762 million tons of crude oil, 493.1 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 1,459 million tons of coal.

Total Volume of China's Foreign Trade Increases

The total volume of export and import in 2000 reached 474.3 billion US dollars, up 31.5 percent over the previous year.

The value of export was 249.2 billion US dollars, up 27.8 percent, and the value of import was 225.1 billion US dollars, up 35.8 percent, resulting in a trade surplus of US$24.1 billion, according to the statistical communique.

Among the total export, that of state-owned enterprises was US$116.5 billion, up 18.2 percent; that of foreign invested enterprises was US$119.4 billion, up 34.8 percent. The export of general trade was US$105.2 billions, up 32.9 percent.

The export of new and high-tech products reached US$37 billion, up 50 percent. Of the total import, rapid growth was seen in resource-type products, and the import of machinery and electronic products accelerated noticeably as well, up 32.6 and 39.7 percent respectively.

Utilization of foreign capital was turning for the better. In 2000, a total of 22,347 new projects that absorbed foreign investment were approved, up 32.1 percent over the previous year. The contracted foreign investment reached US$62.4 billion, up 51.3 percent, and the foreign direct investment in real terms were US$40.7 billion, up 1.0 percent.

Growing momentum was kept in overseas construction projects, labor projects, design and consultancy services contracted by China with foreign countries. In 2000. contracts with foreign investors involved US$14.9 billion, up 15 percent over the previous year, and the accomplished business revenue was US$11.3 billion, up one percent; its contribution to the total export was US$900 million, up 35 percent.

Transport, Telecom Register Steady Growth

China's transport telecommunications industries experienced a steady growth in 2000, with the value-added of these sectors hitting 491.9 billion yuan, up 9.4 percent over the previous year.

The statistical communique revealed that the total volume of cargo shipped by various means was 4,365.9 billion ton-kilometers, up 7.1 percent over the previous year.

Of the total, cargo transport by railways was 1,362.4 billion ton-kilometers, up 6.1 percent; by highways, 597.3 billion ton-kilometers, up 4.4 percent; by waterways, 2,306.1 billion ton-kilometers, up 8.5 percent; and by airways, 4.85 billion ton-kilometer, up 14.6 percent.

The volume of passenger transportation was 1,218.8 billion person-kilometers, an increase of 7.9 percent. Of this total, passengers carried by railways were 448.8 billion person-kilometers, up 8.5 percent; by highways, 660 billion person-kilometers, up 6.5 percent; by waterways, 10.4 billion person-kilometers, down by 3.1 percent; by air, 99.6 billion person-kilometers, up 16.2 percent, according to the communique.

Major coastal ports handled 1,280 million tons of cargo, up 21.7 percent. This included 520 million tons of merchandise for foreign trade, up 33.9 percent year-on-year.

Figures also show that the business transactions of postal and telecommunications service in 2000 totaled 472.5 billion yuan, up 41.9 percent on an annual basis. The number of mobile telephone users stood at 85.26 million in 2000, an increase of 41.97 million.

There were 20.1 telephones for every 100 people in China, and 39 telephones for every 100 urban inhabitants.

In the meantime, domestic tourism maintained fast growth in 2000. The influence of the long holidays during the Spring Festival, the Labor Day and the National Day was prominent. Last year saw 744.45 million domestic tourists, up 3.5 percent over the previous year. Income from domestic tourism reached 317.6 billion yuan, up 12.1 percent.

International tourism also developed steadily in 2000. China received 83.44 million overseas travelers, up 14.6 percent, and a total of 10.47 million Chinese went abroad, a rise of 13.4 percent.

Banking, Insurance Grow Steadily

The sectors of banking and insurance witnessed a moderate growth in 2000. The People's Bank of China, the central bank, continued to carry out the robust monetary policies in 2000, using various monetary policy tolls to increase the money supply, said the communique.

By the end of 2000, the money supply of broad sense (M2) was 13.5 trillion yuan, up 12.3 percent over the previous year, and that of narrow sense (M1) was 5.3 trillion yuan, up 16 percent. The cash money in circulation (M0) amounted to 1.47 trillion yuan, up 8.9 percent.

Statistics also show that savings deposits in various forms in all banking institutions at the end of 2000 totaled 12.38 trillion yuan, up 13.8 percent, a growth rate slightly higher than that at the end of 1999.

Of this total, savings of enterprises accounted for 4.4 trillion yuan, up 18.6 percent, and the savings deposits by urban and rural residents reached 6.43 trillion yuan, up 7.9 percent.

The year-end value of loans stood at 9.94 trillion yuan, up 13.4 percent at comparable prices.

Of the total, the long-term and medium-term loans increased by 379.3 billion yuan, or 30.3 billion yuan more than the increase recorded during the previous year.

Stock market was further developed with standardization in 2000. Some 154 companies issued A shares and another 162 companies issued A shares rights at Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, with capital paid-in topping 149.9 billion yuan, an increase of 62.5 billion yuan over 1999.

The issue of 18 B shares, H shares and Red-chips helped to draw US$20.8 billion.

The insurance service also developed vigorously in 2000, said the communique. The insurance premium totaled 159.6 billion yuan, up 14.5 percent over the previous year.

Of the total, the premium of property insurance was 59.8 billion yuan, that of life insurance was 85.1 billion yuan, and that of health and unforeseen accident insurance was 14.6 billion yuan. The insurance companies paid an indemnity of 52.7 billion yuan as separations in insurance programs.

Agricultural Structure Improved

Structural adjustment for China's agricultural production was enhanced in 2000, said the communique.

The sown areas of cash crops increased, amounting to more than 30 percent of the total sown areas of farm crops for the first time.

Influenced by severe drought and structure adjustment, the total output of grain for 2000 was 462.51 million tons, down by 9 percent over the previous year.

Of the major cash crops, the output of cotton and oil-bearing seeds increased, and that of sugar decreased. The total output of cotton for the whole year was 4.35 million tons, up 13.6 percent over the previous year, while that of oil-bearing seeds was 29.5 million tons, up 13.4 percent; and that of sugar, 74.5 million tons, down 10.6 percent.

With the structural adjustment, the production of vegetables grew at a fast speed. The total sown areas for the whole year reached 14.7 million ha, up 10.1 percent over the previous year.

Steady progress was also seen in animal husbandry, said the communique. The total output of meat reached 62.7 million tons in 2000, up 5.4 percent.

Fishery industry developed steadily. The total output of aquatic products stood at 42.9 million tons, up 4.1 percent.

Forestry production kept its momentum due to the initiation of natural forest protection project and strengthened "grain for green campaign" in the west. The total afforested area in 2000 was 5.16 million ha.

Farmland irrigation construction was further enhanced. Over 800,000 ha of land were converted into farmland with effective irrigation system.

More Investment in Fixed Assets

China's investment in fixed assets showed fast growth of 9.3 percent in 2000, according to the NBS communique.

The completed investment in fixed assets of the country totaled 3,261.9 billion yuan in the year. Of the total, the investment by state-owned units and other type of units was 2,328.4 billion yuan, up 9.2 percent, while that by collective units was 473.9 billion yuan, up 9.2 percent; and that by urban and rural residents, 459.6 billion yuan, up 9.5 percent.

Investment structure was adjusted to some extent, said the communique. Among the investment in basic industry and infrastructure facilities, the investment in agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishery and water conservancy was 89.3 billion yuan, up eight percent. Investment in transport, posts and telecommunications was 539.2 billion yuan, up 7.2 percent and that in industry was 769.9 billion yuan, up 9.3 percent. Some six high- tech industrialization key projects in the fields of information technology, biological technology and new materials had absorbed another 13.1 billion yuan of investment.

Due to the positive influence of the central government's strategies to develop the western areas, investment in the western areas increased by 14.4 percent to 394.3 billion yuan.

The preferential fiscal policies such as discount rate had spurred the investment in technical updating and structural optimization. The investment in this field accounted for 15.6 percent of the total in 2000, up from previous year's 15 percent.

Commodity Sales in Home Market Increase

The total retail sales of consumer goods in 2000 were 3,415.3 billion yuan, up 9.7 percent over the previous year, with a real growth of 11.4 percent if price factor was deducted.

Of the total, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas reached 2,111 billion yuan, and the retail sales of consumer goods at and below county level were 1,304.3 billion yuan, up by 10.6 and 8.3 percent respectively, according to the Statistical Communique.

In terms of different industries, the sales of the wholesale and retail trades were up 12.1 percent, the sales of the catering industry were up 17.3 percent, while the sales of other industry were down by 0.3 percent.

Transactions at the market for means of production became brisk. The total sales of means of production by wholesale and retail enterprises above designated size were 1,580.8 billion yuan, up by 23.7 percent.

The economic efficiency of wholesale and retail enterprises above designated size was improved. In the first 11 months of 2000, the net sales income reached 2,398.2 billion yuan, up 17.3 percent over the same period last year. Of this total, the growth of wholesale trade was 18.5 percent, and that of retail trade was 11. 6 percent. The profits made stood at 24.8 billion yuan, an increase of 1.2 folds.

Of the total, the growth of wholesale trade was 1.3 folds and that of retail trade was 25.6 percent. However, due to the rise of operation cost, the gross profit margin was only 7.93 percent, down by 0.4 percentage points. The point brought from the main business of enterprises was up 14.2 percent.

Commodity Sales in Home Market Increase

Awareness of Environmental Protection Enhanced

The general awareness of environmental protection was further enhanced, and the development of environmental protection speeded up.

By the end of 2000, there were 128,000 people working in environmental protection agencies in China. Some 2,204 environment monitoring stations were in operation employing 40,000 workers.

New achievement was made in the protection of nature, as was illustrated by the pilot establishment of 213 ecological demonstration zones, said the statistical communique.

China also had 1,227 natural protection zones, including 155 national natural protection zones, covering 98.21 million hectares or 9.9 percent of the total land area of the country. The legal construction for environmental protection achieved new progress with further enforcement of environment-related laws.

By the end of 2000, about 438 standards concerning environmental protection were formulated. Of all construction projects started in 2000, 91.5 percent implemented the evaluation program on the impact of the projects in question against the environment. About 98 percent of all construction projects put into operation in 2000 had pollution control facilities.

A total of 38,101 projects against environmental pollution were completed within the specified time frame during the year, absorbing a total investment of 20.8 billion yuan.

Some 2,700 smoke and dust control zones were established in 537 cities, covering an area of 18,000 square kilometers; and there were another 2,288 zones covering 13,000 square kilometers in 476 cities, where the noise pollution was put under specified level.

The deterioration of environment pollution was initially put under control. The total emissions of major pollutants continued to decline. In 2000, the total emissions of 12 major pollutants were down by 10 to 15 percent as compared with that in 1995.

By the end of October 2000, over 90 percent of the 238,000 pollutant-discharging enterprises met the environmental standards.

Among the 46 key environmental protection cities, the surface water quality in 33 cities and the air quality in 22 cities met the standards, of which 18 had both air and surface water quality reaching the standards, and the rest cities were close to the standards.

Active progress was made in key environmental protection projects. Among the 5,188 key pollutant-discharging enterprises along the "three rivers", and the "three lakes" (Huaihe River, Liaohe River, and Haihe River, Taihu Lake, Dianchi Lake and Caohu Lake), 95 percent of them met the environmental standards. Fifty-five wastewater treatment factories were built along the rivers and lakes, and another 111 were under construction, altogether accounting for 67 percent of the planned target.

The air pollution protection in the "duel control zones" (acid rain control zones and sulfur dioxide control zones) achieved early success.

Among the 175 cities in the "duel control zones", the concentration of the sulfur dioxide in 102 cities met the second grade standards.

By the end of November 2000, some 3,944 enterprises of the 4,678 sulfur dioxide-discharging enterprises in the "duel control zones" met the national environmental standards, accounting for 84.3 percent of the total.

New Progress in Culture, Public Health

China's cultural, public health and sports sectors made rapid progress over the previous year.

According to the communique, there were 2,622 art-performing groups, 2,911 culture centers, 2,769 public libraries and 1,373 museums in China.

Some 732 medium and short-wave radio transmitting and relaying stations throughout China brought radio programs to 92.1 percent of the total population, and 1,313 television transmitting and relaying stations covered 93.4 percent of the population.

Meanwhile, the cable television users reached 79.2 million. National and provincial newspapers issued 20.3 billion copies, magazines, 2.85 billion copies, and books, 6.35 billion copies.

Continued development also took place in public health undertakings. By the end of 2000, there were 325,000 health care institutions, with a total of 3.18 million beds, 2.21 million of which in hospitals and health care stations; and 4.49 million health workers, including 2.08 million doctors in hospitals and health-care stations, and 1.27 million senior and junior nurses.

Vigorous development was scored in sports, and the national fit-keeping program was further promoted. In 2000, Chinese athletes won 110 world champions at domestic and international sports games. Fourteen athletes and two teams broke 22 world records on 30 occasions.

Education and Science Development Accelerated

China accelerated the development of education and science in the course of reform and adjustment in 2000, according to the communique released.

Higher education developed fast with breakthroughs made in the reform of management system. More than 1,000 universities in China enrolled 5.56 million undergraduate students last year, including 2.21 million new entrants, while 772 institutions of adult higher education enrolled 3.54 million students, including 1.56 new entrants.

Senior secondary education was enlarged during the same period. Currently, there are 12.01 million students studying in 14,600 ordinary senior secondary schools, and 12.95 million students in secondary vocational or technical schools.

Progress was also made in the implementation of nine-year compulsory education program, and the targets to eliminate illiteracy among the youth and the mid-aged were basically met, the communique said.

The program covered 85 percent of the country's total population, and the illiteracy rate of the youth and mid-aged was lower than 5 percent

The drop-off rate of junior secondary school and primary school was 3.21 percent and 0.55 percent, respectively.

By the end of 2000, China had 29.26 million professionals and technicians of all specialization working in state-owned enterprises and institutions, and 2.81 million people were engaged in scientific and technological activities.

Technical innovation achieved new progress in 2000, with 280 new technical innovation projects and 1,329 key pilot production projects of new products.

China gained 30,260 key scientific results in the field of basic theories, applied technologies and soft science.

A total of 170,690 applications for patent were received from domestic and overseas applicants, with 105,344 patents authorized. Moreover, new headway was made in space technology. The year 2000 saw the successful launching of six satellites, the communique said.

Better Social Security System

The Chinese people enjoyed a better social security system in 2000, according to the statistical communique.

By the end of 2000, some 104.08 million staff and workers participated in the unemployment insurance program, and 1.37 million people received their monthly unemployment insurance, the communique said.

A total of 103.67 million staff and workers and over 31.73 million retirees participated in the basic retirement security program, while 43.32 million people took part in the basic health care program.

The social welfare system also improved step by step. Statistics show that there were 1.12 million beds in social welfare institutions of various kind in China in 2000, accommodating 843,000 inmates. Some 201,000 community service facilities were established in urban areas, including 8,101 community service centers.

Minimum life guarantee system had been established in all cities and towns by 2000, and about 7.01 million urban and rural residents received minimum life guarantee relief.

In 2000, 6.89 billion yuan worth of social-welfare lottery tickets were issued, raising 1.43 billion yuan worth of social funds, and donations from the society reached 3.27 billion yuan.

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