¡¡¡¡BEIJING, Oct. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- China's gross domestic product (GDP) reached
7.1682 trillion yuan (866 billion US dollars) in the first three quarters of
this year, up 7.9 percent year-on-year, figures released Wednesday by the
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show.
¡¡¡¡NBS Deputy Director Qiu Xiaohua told a press conference Wednesday morning
that this growth rate was 0.3 percentage point higher year-on-year.
¡¡¡¡During the period, China saw a total of 2.5838 trillion yuan (312 billion
dollars) in fixed asset investment, up 21.8 percent year-on-year. Investment in
capital construction and in the real estate sector rose 24.6 percent and 29.4
percent, respectively.
¡¡¡¡Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China jumped 22.6 percent during the
first three quarters of this year to 39.6 billion dollars and it is expected to
exceed 50 billion dollars this year due to the improved FDI environment,
according to Qiu.
¡¡¡¡Meanwhile, total foreign trade volume in China surged 18.3 percent to 445.1
billion dollars during the period, with exports rising 19.4 percent to 232.6
billion dollars, the highest ever this year.
¡¡¡¡Per capita income for urban residents reached 5,793 yuan (698 dollars) from
January to September, up 17.2 percent, while that ofrural residents increased
5.3 percent to 1,721 yuan (207 dollars).
¡¡¡¡
¡¡¡¡During the first nine months, China's domestic market continuedto operate
in a stable manner, with significant increases in the sales of automobiles,
housing and telecommunications equipment, indicating the emergence of a new
consumer pattern.
¡¡¡¡In contrast with strong consumer sales, Qiu said, consumer prices remained
relatively low. Consumer prices in the three quarters dropped 0.8 percent
compared with the same period of lastyear.
¡¡¡¡Consumer goods sales increased by 9.8 percent to reach 1.85 trillion yuan
(222.75 billion dollars) in urban areas, while registering a 6.8 percent
year-on-year increase to 1.06 trillion yuan (128 billion dollars) in rural
areas.
¡¡¡¡Qiu said in view of the slower growth of rural retail sales, the Chinese
government is preparing to take steps to improve the situation.
¡¡¡¡China's GDP will hit a record 10 trillion yuan (about 1.2 trillion US
dollars) by the end of 2002 as a result of the government's efforts in
structural adjustment and in stimulating demand both at home and abroad, Qiu
said. Enditem
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