China Predicts Strong Growth Despite Impact of Global SlowdownChinese Finance Minister Xiang Huaicheng expressed confidence on Tuesday that China's economy could maintain strong growth this year despite a global economic turndown."I'm prudently optimistic that China's economic growth will be about seven percent or just over seven percent," Xiang said at a joint press conference with US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill. However Xiang admitted a world slump would affect China. "The contribution of exports to our GDP is over 40 percent, therefore the slowing down of the global economy, including the slowdown in the US economy, stagnation in Japan's economy and a slowdown of European economies is having some bearing on China's growth," he said. Chinese exports in June witnessed negative growth year-on-year, while in August exports registered zero growth, he said. "How much the impact will be depend on what effective responses China will take to address the global economic situation and in this regard we will mainly rely on expansion of domestic demand," he said. Xiang and O'Neill were speaking to journalists following a meeting on bilateral economic cooperation, which both ministers characterized as "very successful". Issues discussed at the meeting would play an important role in a scheduled summit in Beijing between Presidents George W. Bush and Jiang Zemin, they said. O'Neill expressed optimism that ongoing negotiations for China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva would be able to overcome the final obstacles on the opening of China's market to foreign insurance companies and pave the way for China's quick entry. "I'm very hopeful and expect that there will be a resolution in a positive way in the near future and China will succeed with WTO and that it will happen very fast," O'Neill said. O'Neill, on his first official visit to China, met President Jiang Zemin and other leaders on Monday. On Wednesday he is due to meet Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa in Tokyo. |
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