The latest official information shows that the year 2001 will go
down in history as a milestone for China as well as a good
beginning for the country's five-year (2001-2005) plan for economic
and social development.
Zeng Peiyan, minister in charge of the State Development Planning
Commission, said earlier this week the Chinese economy is expected
to grow by 7.4 percent, exceeding 9 trillion yuan (1.09 trillion
U.S. dollar) for the first time in history.
This year's fast economic growth, characterized by higher
efficiency and low inflation, indicates "a good beginning" for the
five-year plan, said the minister, describing it as a hard-won
achievement as the world economy has experienced a marked slowdown
in growth.
During the first 10 months of this year, the total industrial
profit increased by 9.3 ercent to 364.7 billion yuan (44 billion
U.S. dollars) over the corresponding period of last year, while
fiscal revenue rose by 256.8 billion yuan (31 billion U.S.
dollars), Zeng said.
According to a forecast by the commission, the inflation rate for
this year will remain basically stable, while the per capita
disposable income for urban residents will grow by 7 percent and
the net per capita income for farmers will increase by at least 4
percent.
Meanwhile, the registered unemployment rate for urban China will be
below 4 percent.
Encouraging progress has been made in industrial and agricultural
restructuring.
In
coastal areas in eastern part of the country, priority has been
given to farm produce with higher added value, while in major grain
producing areas in the middle and western parts, the output of
quality and special-purpose farm produce has been increased.
The share of such major crops as wheat reported by regions with
better natural growing conditions has been increasing.
The country's coal mining industry, the only loss-making industry
of traditional industrial sectors, is set to become profitable this
year for the first time in years thanks to massive cuts in
redundant jobs and higher coal prices.
Highlights of China's economic development include the new record
high of its foreign exchange reserve, which had exceeded 200
billion U.S. dollars earlier this year.
The outstanding amount of deposits by Chinese residents topped the
7 trillion yuan (853.6 billion U.S. dollars), also a record high,
earlier this year.
In
July, China overtook the United States as the world's biggest user
of mobile telecommunications, with the number of mobile phone users
totaling 120 million.
Other highlights are new highs in recent years in fixed asset
investment and investment by overseas investors in the country, and
some expensive products priced at the 100,000 yuan (12,195
U.S.dollar) level -- such as cars -- are gaining popularity.
In
addition, China has launched a number of projects to commercialize
high-tech achievements, which have attracted nearly 20 billion yuan
(2.4 billion U.S. dollars) worth of social capital using small
amount of capital collected through issuing treasury bonds.
To
facilitate the flow of human resources and urbanization,
governments at all levels have eased, to varying degrees, the
restriction on migration from rural areas to urban areas.
China's western development strategy has gone into full swing as
several gigantic infrastructure projects were launched, such as the
first railway line linking the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai
province, and the projects designed to transmit electric power or
natural gas from the resources-rich west to the
rapidly-industrializing east.
China's entry into the World Trade Organization is viewed at home
and abroad as "a historic event" which will trigger more changes
for China than the country has seen in the past two decades.
Despite the sluggish demand outside the country, China managed to
achieve a 7.9 percent increase in foreign trade during the first 10
months of this year, with export up by 6.1 percent.
Senior Chinese economic officials believe overseas investment in
China will total 59.4 billion U.S. dollars this year.
Meanwhile, China has continued to deepen its reform, regulate
market and economic order, improve its pricing system and maintain
financial stability.
The year 2001 also witnessed progress in China's bids to improve
the standard of living for its people in terms of material goods
and cultural life, and the overall concept of ethics in
society.
A
number of high-profile sports events also helped boost the morale
of the Chinese people.
Economist Liu Guoguang attributed the economic and social
achievements China has made this year mainly to the country's
adherence to the policy of expanding domestic demand and
commitment to a positive fiscal and stable financial policies. The
economist said the achievements will lay a solid foundation for the
country's economic development in the coming years.
But he warned that the uncertainty of the international economic
environment will restrain to some degree the Chinese economy, as
the better-than-expected increase in domestic demand has failed to
offset the drastic slump in overseas demand. "We must remain
cool-headed amid optimism," Liu said.
(Xinhua News
Agency December 6, 2001)