Economic Observer Online
Oct 18, 2011
Translated by Pang Lei
Original Article: [Chinese] 

China's gross domestic product (GDP) registered a year-on-year increase of 9.4 percent reaching 32.07 trillion yuan in the first three quarters of 2011, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on Tuesday.

The growth rate was 1.3 percentage points lower than the same period last year, said NBS spokesman Sheng Laiyun at a press conference.

The industrial value-added output for primary industry was up 3.8 percent, reaching 3.03 trillion yuan. Secondary industry was up 10.8 percent, reaching 15.48 trillion. Tertiary industry rose by 9 percent reaching 13.55 trillion in the first three quarters of 2010.

The output of pork, beef, mutton, poultry and other meat products was 0.2 percent higher than that of a year earlier, reaching 54.53 million yuan.

The report also showed that, the industrial value-added in large scale industry, including all state-owned enterprise and other industrial enterprises with yearly sales of more than 20 million yuan, was up by 14.2% year-on-year, 0.1 percentage point lower than that in the first half of this year.

In addition, the profits of large-scale industrial enterprises - those with annual sales exceeding 20 million yuan - ammounted to 3.2 trillion yuan in the first eight months of the year, a 28.2 percent increase over last year.

Meanwhile, China's fixed-asset investment (excluding rural households) in the first three quarters rose 24.9 percent from a year earlier (a real growth of 16.9 percent after deducting price factors) to reach 21.23 trillion yuan.

Property investment grew 32 percent to 4.42 trillion yuan in the first nine months, the NBS said.

In addition, total retail sales of consumer goods grew 17 percent in the first nine months of the year from a year earlier (a real growth of 11.3 percent after deducting price factors), reaching 13.08 trillion yuan.
 
In terms of the consumption, sales experienced rapid growth; China's motor vehicles rose 16 percent in the first nine months of the year, 18.9 percentage points lower than that in the same period of last year. Furniture sales were up 31.4 percent, 7 percentage points lower and  household appliances and audio-video equipment sales climbed 20.5 percent, or 7.6 percentage points lower.

According to Sheng, China's export growth rate has also increased. The NBS said exports and imports totaled 2.15 trillion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 37.9 percent. Furthermore, exports in the first nine months grew 34.0 percent to 1.13 trillion US dollars, while the imports reached 1.01 trillion US dollars, up 42.4 percent from a year ago.

The NBS added that the income of China's urban and rural residents continued to increase in the first nine months of this year.

The per-capita disposable income of urban residents reached 16,301 yuan over the 9-month period from January to September, a year-on year increase of 13.7 percent - or real growth of 7.8 percent after adjusting for inflation.

For rural residents, per-capita cash income totaled 5,875 yuan over the same 9-month period, up 20.7 percent, with real growth of 13.6 percent after adjusting for inflation.

In terms of international coverage, the Financial Times said that "the slowdown in growth, announced on Tuesday ... is likely to add to the consensus among most economists that the country is on track for a “soft landing” of moderating growth and cooling inflation."

The newspaper also noted that "the biggest risks to the economy are a steep fall in global demand for Chinese exports or a collapse in the overheated Chinese real estate market."

The Wall Street Journal also noted that growth "remained at a relatively healthy pace, adding to evidence that the Chinese economy is headed for a soft landing."

The paper also drew attention to how "economists are now divided on the outlook for Beijing's economic policies, with some now calling for an imminent loosening."

Reuters drew readers' attention to the fact that "Shares in resource-rich Australia extended losses on the day to as much as 2 percent after the GDP data, with major miners who supply China sliding between 3 percent and 9 percent."

Links and Sources
NBS: 9月份70个大中城市住宅销售价格变动情况
NBS: 9月份规模以上工业生产运行情况
NBS: 1-9月份固定资产投资主要情况
NBS: 9月份消费品市场情况
NBS: National Economy Maintained Steady and Fast Development in the First Three Quarters of 2011
Economic Observer Online: China\'s GDP Grew 9.7% in the First Quarter
Economic Observer Online: China\'s GDP Grows 9.6% in First Half of 2011
Economic Observer Online: China\'s GDP Up 10.6% in First Three Quarters of 2010