Friday, April 15, 2011

China's economy grows 9.7 percent

.- China's economy strengthened in the second place in the first quarter of 2011, with an annual rise of 9.7% GDP, but also had high inflation of 5.4% in March, a figure that raises questions about stability the greatest emerging power. While neighboring Japan, relegated to third place in the global economy in 2010, trying to recover from its worst crisis since the Second World War, China's Gross Domestic Product in the first quarter of 2011 totaled 9.63 trillion yuan (1.67 billion U.S.

dollars, 1.01 billion euros), reported the National Statistics Office. The figure, which represents a slight slowdown after growth of 9.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, also meant a GDP growth of 2.1 percent over the last quarter of last year, said the office, which first leads to of comparison between a quarter and the last.

China's economy grew 10.3 percent in 2010, and the Chinese Government has set a GDP growth target of eight per cent for 2011, with serious challenges to Beijing as rising inflation and the persistent housing bubble. In the first quarter of 2011, industrial production rose 14.4 percent, while investment in fixed assets totaled 3.94 trillion yuan (603 billion in 1300, 416 million euros in 1200), an annual rise of 25 percent.

Retail sales, the main indicator of consumption, amounted to 4.29 trillion yuan (656,000 novescientos million, 453 million euros in 1300), up 16.3 percent over the period from January to March 2010. On the other hand, country, world's largest exporter, registered in the first quarter of this year a staggering trade deficit of one billion dollars (689 million euros).

Its exports in 1600 amounted to 399 million dollars or 275 000 setescientos million euros, by 26.5 percent, and imports at 400 000 setescientos million dollars or 276 000 cuatroscientos million euros, up 32.6 percent. As inflation in China, whose high concern to the Government, it stood at 5.4 percent last March, more than half a percentage point in January and February and the worst rate in 32 months.

In computing the entire quarter, prices in China have risen by five percent, still a point above the objectives of the Chinese Government has set to keep rising prices under four per cent for 2011 ( last year was 3.3 percent). In quarterly terms, has been an alarming increase in food prices, up 11 percent, while the housing bubble still in spite of the measures of "cooling" of Beijing, prices rose by 6.5 percent.

Below the average increases were clothing (0.3 percent), health spending (3.1 percent) or the transport and communications (0.1 percent). It should be noted, despite the price rises, they fell 0.2 percent in March compared to February, when the increases are usually greater for the Lunar New Year and Spring Festival, the main celebration in China.

Beijing fears that rapid price increases produce social instability, with precedents such as the 80's, when inflation rates that sometimes exceeded 10 percent increased discontent and played as one of the factors behind the Tiananmen protests. To contain prices, the communist regime has been conducted primarily monetary, and so its central bank has raised so far this year interest rates twice, and the reserve requirement for banks three.

China's macroeconomic numbers have created more and more excitement in the media as the country has been rising in the top ten world economies over the past decade, something that is perceived, for example, in the large crowds that are generated when the press conference reports are delivered to reporters.

Today, however, the story was that this turmoil has not occurred as in previous quarters, for the simple reason that the Office report released 15 minutes earlier than expected, saving the usual tensions.

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