The story appears on

Page A9

July 7, 2015

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

Home » Business » Economy

Economic indicators show firm changes as policies take effect

MULTIPLE economic indicators in recent months suggest the Chinese economy is over the worst as pro-growth and reform measures take effect, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

“Positive changes are occurring due to government policies and reform measures,” said Sheng Laiyun, a bureau spokesman, who made the remarks in an interview hosted on its website yesterday.

Sheng said that improvements in industrial output, fixed-asset investment, and expanding consumption indicated an economic upturn.

In May, industrial value-added output picked up pace and grew 6.1 percent year on year, up 0.2 percentage points from the previous month; while urban fixed-asset investment gained 9.9 percent, compared with 9.6 percent in April; and sales of consumption goods rose 10.1 percent in May, up 0.1 percentage point from April.

The economic structure has continued to improve with high-tech sectors boosting industrial output, and the services industry is witnessing faster investment growth, according to Sheng.

Meanwhile, structural reforms are boosting the private sector, which has reported faster industrial output growth. The Internet Plus strategy, the nation’s digital drive, led online shopping sales value to grow 39.3 percent year on year in May.

The tentative upturn comes as major data for the second quarter, including gross domestic product, are due on July 15.

Sheng said multiple factors will be able to extend these positive changes into the latter half of the year, including a warming real estate market. The sales value of commercial properties rose 3.1 percent year on year in the January-May period, reversing a 3.1 percent fall for January-April, he said.

Meanwhile, easier access for private investment in previously restricted sectors, and the enormous domestic consumption potential will also contribute to stabilization, according to him.

However, Sheng cautioned that some improvements are still fragile and tentative.




 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend