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E-mail Xinhua, November 13, 2012
Anticipating economic difficulties this year, the authorities planned ahead early and lowered the GDP growth target for 2012 below 8 percent for the first time in eight years, in an effort to encourage local officials to pay more attention to healthy growth.
Delegates attending the 18th CPC National Congress said the readjusted economic growth goal is not only closely related to the changing environment at home and abroad, but also to the acceleration of China's economic restructuring and the promotion of quality development.
China's GDP expanded to 47.3 trillion yuan (7.5 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2011. However, widespread social problems have appeared, making the current mode of development unbalanced, uncoordinated and unsustained.
"In the past, we developed only to eliminate the shortage of goods and services. Now many sectors are suffering from overcapacity," said Shao Ning, deputy director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and a delegate to the Party congress.
Prevailing ideas regarding development now concern progress in industrial upgrading and restructuring with improved quality and better performance, Shao said.
"Undoubtedly, the congress will steer China into an era of massive readjustment and great transition. We did not care too much about the consumption of resources in the past, now we must focus more on the carrying capacity of the environment," said Li Mingxing, vice chairman of the China Enterprise Confederation and a delegate to the congress.
To Song Zhiping, chairman of the China National Building Materials Group Corp. (CNBM), the Chinese economy will grow mildly during the next several years after almost two-digit growth in the past three decades, as "the larger the economy is, the harder it is to maintain growth."
Potential ahead
Ba Shusong, a financial researcher with the State Development Research Center under the State Council, or China's Cabinet, said the economy is undergoing an economic cycle, referring to the natural fluctuation of an economy between periods of expansion and contraction.
"Starting from the low point in 2008, China's economic growth climbed to a peak in 2010 thanks to the 4-trillion-yuan stimulus package. It has gradually slowed since then and reached another low this year," Ba said.
He said the economy will continue to seek new sources for growth this year, while in 2013, more focus will be given to economic restructuring.
"I expect economic growth to bounce back to around 8 percent in the fourth quarter," he said.
Delegates and some economists insist that China still has vast potential in maintaining growth due to significant potential domestic demand, while the accelerating urbanization process will give the country another boost for steady growth.
Cao Yuanzheng, chief economist with the Bank of China (BOC), said the country's economic transition has significance far beyond its boundaries, describing it as being part of the rebalancing of the global economy.
The global rebalance requires China to consume more and invest less while requiring the United States to invest more and consume less, Cao said, adding he believes China will become the world's largest importer in the future.
A recent report from the BOC said China will maintain an average economic growth of 8 percent annually in the coming decade.
"If a company can grow along with the Chinese market, it will be the fastest growing firm in the world," Cao said.
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