Special Report: Global Financial Crisis
BEIJING, Dec. 3 -- China's top economic policy makers
will meet next week to decide how to secure growth of at least 8 percent,
outpacing the World Bank's more pessimistic forecast, government officials said
Tuesday.
The annual Central Economic Work Conference,
scheduled for Monday through Wednesday, will tackle ways to implement the
recently adopted "expansive" fiscal policy and "moderately easy" monetary
policy, officials said.
Also on Tuesday, the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences predicted that China's economy could sustain growth of around 9 percent
next year because of the concerted world effort to counter the financial crisis.
Annual growth in gross domestic product slowed to 9
percent in the third quarter and is expected to end the year at about the same
level, compared with last year's 11.9 percent.
The minimum growth rate that China needs to absorb
the millions of people entering the workforce every year is widely regarded to
be 8 percent.
The top priority for next year is to maintain steady
economic growth, said officials attending a recent preliminary meeting for the
yearly economic summit. They noted that the central government has set next
year's economic growth target at above 8 percent, the Shanghai Securities News
reported yesterday, citing unnamed sources.
The meeting was attended by members of the Communist
Party of China's politburo.
"Amid the grim outlook for the world economy,
sustaining growth will no doubt become the theme of this year's Central Economic
Work Conference," said one of the officials attending the session.
The target set by the government was higher than the
World Bank's forecast of a 7.5-percent increase next year.
Other economists were more optimistic.
Zhang Liqun, a researcher at the State Council, or
China's Cabinet, said the nation's economy may grow 10 percent next year because
of "the huge potential for domestic consumption and investment."
Zuo Xiaolei, an analyst at China Galaxy Securities
Co, said the country should have no problem achieving 8-percent expansion next
year.
"If we try hard enough, it could even be 9 percent,"
Zuo said.
To spur growth, China last month unveiled a massive
4-trillion-yuan (US$586 billion) stimulus package and slashed loan interest
rates by the most since 1997.
Li Maoyu, a Changjiang Securities Co analyst, said
this year's conference was not likely to announce additional major policies as
the government has taken strong actions over the past few months.
"The conference may focus on studying the
effectiveness of the existing policies and then decide what to do next," Li
said.
(Source: CRIENGLISH. com)
Think tank: China economy to grow over
9% in 2009
BEIJING, Dec.
2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese economy is forecast to grow by more than 9 percent next
year, according to an annual blue paper released by the Chinese Academy of
Social Science on Tuesday.
Despite the huge uncertainty in 2009, China could still
achieve a 9-percent growth as long as it unveils timely and suitable
macro-economic control measures to boost domestic demand, said the blue paper.
World Bank cuts 2009 China growth
forecast to 7.5% vs. 9.2
BEIJING, Nov.
25 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank on Tuesday cut its 2009 forecast for China's
economic growth to 7.5 percent, from 9.2percent previously, in a report released
here.
With the financial crisis spreading globally, the impact
on China is expected to intensify amid a global fund squeeze and a slowdown in
export growth in 2009, the World Bank said in its China Quarterly Update.
China's 4 trillion yuan stimulus to
boost economy, domestic demand
BEIJING, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- China said on Sunday it will
loosen credit conditions, cut taxes and embark on a massive infrastructure
spending program in a wide-ranging effort to offset adverse global economic
conditions by boosting domestic demand.
This is a shift long advocated by analysts of the Chinese
economy and by some within the government. It comes amid indications that
economic growth, exports and various industries are slowing.
