China's Economy Grew 9.4% in Third Quarter, More Than Expected

[norml]

China's Economy Grew 9.4% in Third Quarter, More Than Expected


Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- China's economy expanded faster than expected in the third quarter as consumers spent more and investment in coal mines and railways increased.

Gross domestic product rose 9.4 percent from a year earlier after climbing 9.5 percent in the second quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said in Beijing. That beat the median 9.2 percent gain forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 17 economists.

``The Chinese economy continues to motor along at a pretty solid pace,'' said Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP Capital Investors, Australia's biggest life insurer, said in Sydney. ``There has been a bit of a rebalancing of the economy over the past few years away from fixed-asset investment toward the consumer.''

The Chinese economy, which accounted for a 10th of global growth in 2004, has defied expectations for a slowdown in the past year as demand for cell phones, restaurant meals and travel surged. Premier Wen Jiabao is seeking to channel more investment into the nation's power and transport networks, where capacity hasn't kept pace with overall economic activity.

Fixed-asset investment, which accounts for more than a third of China's economy, increased 26.1 percent to 5.71 trillion yuan ($704 billion) in the nine-month period after first-half growth of 25.4 percent, the statistics bureau said. Industrial output rose 16.3 percent, after gaining 16.4 percent in the first half.


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http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=aOSwiou_blBY&refer=home

[MadisonProgressive]

1. Great for them! Maybe not so good for us??

[joefree1]

2. Just got back from China

Amazing place. Lots of talk about China becoming the next gobal power. Lots of Americans there getting in on the action. I'm not educated enough to know the short term ramifications of this. However I was working in Japan when that country was supposed to become the new "super power." My guest is that China will reach a point where croynism and corruption will stifle further development. I'm also guessing the multinational corporations know this. Unfortunatly the environment, workers rights, and overall media freedom will continue to suffer in the name of greed.