China's current economic situation is good, according to a State Council executive meeting held in Beijing yesterday.

Participants in the meeting, presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao, agreed the nation's economy continued to develop in the direction guided by the government's macro-control and maintained a stable and fast growth.

The meeting, however, did not disclose the economic growth figure for the first quarter.

Researcher Wang Zhao of the State Council Development Research Center said China's first quarter gross domestic product is likely to grow by about 9 percent.

"The country's economy has stepped into a stable development period," he said.

However, the economy would not maintain a growth rate as high as last year's which stood at 9.5 percent, because the nation's money supply has dropped.

Earlier figures from the People's Bank of China suggested that the broad money supply or the M2 grew year-on-year by 13.9 percent at the end of February, dropping from the 14.6 percent at the end of last year.

According to the executive meeting, some prominent problems existing in the current economy have not been rooted out.

There were also new problems and issues. Participants to the meeting said the country may have difficulties in maintaining an increase in both agricultural production and rural people's incomes. Fixed asset investment continued to grow at a fast rate, while constraints on coal, electricity and transportation were still factors, they agreed.

(China Daily April 14, 2005)