Economic Trend News
- Double-digit growth predicted for 2007
Date: 2-Jan-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
CHINA'S economy will probably record its fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth in 2007, the statistics bureau's chief economist forecast Thursday, playing down expectations of a slowdown by some economists.
Yao Jingyuan, chief economist of the National Bureau of Statistics, said gross domestic product (GDP) growth was expected to dip only modestly next year, after growing by 10.5 percent in all of 2006.
'Many institutions are forecasting next year's GDP growth. Some say 8 percent, while others say 9 percent,'Yao told a forum. 'However, I think growth will be maintained at about 10 percent next year.'
Yao said he thought momentum would remain strong in part because bottlenecks in transport and power generation had eased, and because the international environment remained favorable.
Local and central governments would also continue to have a strong incentive to invest in the run-up to the Communist Party congress - held every five years - slated for sometime next autumn, he said.
Many economists have said that they expect growth to dip below 10 percent next year - the central bank's research department and Goldman Sachs have forecast 9.8 percent expansion, while many predictions are lower than that.
Yao said the current and capital account surpluses will remain a headache for the government this year, without elaborating.
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