Economists optimistic on 7.5% growth target
- By Fan Junmei
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail China.org.cn, July 19, 2013
Economists are confident that China can achieve the targeted 7.5 percent economic growth this year, despite the downside risks from both external and domestic uncertainties.
China's GDP growth slid to 7.5 percent from a year earlier in the April-June period, official data showed on Monday. The figure came down from the 7.7 percent growth logged in the first quarter, and is also significantly lower than last year's 7.8 percent, the lowest in 13 years.
|
|
|
Economists are confident that China can achieve the targeted 7.5 percent economic growth this year, despite the downside risks from both external and domestic uncertainties.[Tuanjiebao.com] |
"The Chinese government has enough tools to ensure that the 7.5 percent target is met, so the only question is whether they are used or not. Urbanization remains the key strategic issue," said Ross.
The British economist also pointed out that consumption contributed less to the first half year's growth because the rate of growth of incomes was falling.
Several Chinese economists also expressed their confidence in China's economic growth, and voiced their own concerns in separate interviews with China Economic Net.
Zhang Liqun, an analyst from the Development Research Center of the State Council, noted that the rapid advancement of industrialization and urbanization has wiped out the possibility of "hard landing" for China's economy. He was also very optimistic about China's capabilities to grow steadily while keeping its economic growth rate at around 7.5 percent this year.
The slowdown shows that the economic growth shall not solely rely on the government's stimulus package anymore, according to Liu Yuanchun, vice president of the School of Economics of Renmin University of China.
Liu emphasized that China's economic development can turn relatively more sound only through restructuring. He also stressed that the precondition for economic restructuring is to prevent economic growth rate slump, which may cause massive unemployment, drop in the revenue growth rate, and unsustainable debts for local governments.
Unlike many people who were shocked by the decline of the growth rate, Jia Kang, director of the Research Institute for Fiscal Science of the Ministry of Finance, thought it was not so surprising. "This growth pace is relatively satisfying, even ideal," he said.
Jia explained that a moderate decrease of the growth rate indicated that as long as the marketing system and its supporting reforms were boosted, upgrading economic structures, digesting excess capacity, and eliminating outdated capacity could be realized through the market's resource allocation mechanism. This was the key to improving the quality of economic growth and developing a virtuous circle. He also stated that the upcoming adjusted policy should focus on upgrading and transforming growth model.
"International practices show that every country or economy shall experience a slowdown after a long time of rapid development," said Wang Yiming, vice president of the Academy of Macroeconomic Research at the National Development and Reform Commission. "Chinese economic growth is generally steady, and the 7.6 percent growth rate in the first half year is still within a reasonable range."
Wang also listed some driving forces for the future steady economic growth - the rapid industrialization and urbanization; the upgrading of consumption structure; the release of potentials in the fields of energy saving, environmental protection and consumption of information; and the accelerated transfer of industries from coastal areas to the central and western regions.
Guo Tianyong, a professor and the director of the Research Center of the Chinese Banking Industry, Central University of Finance and Economics, suggested that the country maintain a prudent, neutral monetary policy to promote industrial upgrading, saying there was no need to boost the economy through monetary stimulus.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)