China's GDP grows 7.8% in 1st half of 2002

Asian Economic News, July 22, 2002

BEIJING, July 15 Kyodo

China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 7.8% in the first half of this year from a year earlier to 4,553.6 billion yuan ($550.2 billion) due to strong domestic demand backed by increased government spending, the State Statistics Bureau said Monday.

The growth rate was better than the government expected at the end of last year, the bureau's deputy director, Qiu Xiaohua, told reporters, showing confidence in achieving the government's target of 7% growth for the whole year.

In the January-June period, fixed asset investment increased 21.5% over the same period last year, while total retail sales, the yardstick of consumer spending, rose 8.6%, the bureau said.

Exports from January to June increased 14.1% to $142.1 billion, while imports rose 10.4% to $128.7 billion, it said.

Actual foreign direct investment in China also registered a robust increase of 18.7% over the same period in 2001, suggesting China's entry into the World Trade Organization in December last year contributed to the economic growth.

In the April-June quarter, GDP grew 8% year-on-year, higher that the 7.6% in the January-March period, the bureau said.