Efforts by the Chinese government to temper the country’s incendiary growth failed in the first quarter, with gross domestic product growth of 11.1%, for a total of 5.028 billion yuan ($657.82 million). Industry production grew 18.3% year-over-year, with the refining of raw materials up 26.2%, and the manufacturer of electronic and telecom products up 26.1%, and motor vehicles rose 22.3%, with cars gaining 32.1%. Overall, heavy industry year-over-year growth was 19.6%, compared to 15.6% growth in light industry.
Profits for industry enterprises were up 43.8% compared to 2006, with 35 out of 39 industrial divisions showing year-on-year profit growth. The chemical industry was among the top five divisions with profit increases, joining steel, electric power, manufacturing of transportation equipment, and petroleum processing and coking.
Trade remains robust, with the total value of imports and exports up 23.3% to $457.7 billion. Exports made up $252.1 billion of that figure, with imports accounting for $205.7 billion—growth of 18.2% from last year compared to 27.8% for exports. China’s trade surplus grew by $23.1 billion to $46.4 billion. By the end of the first quarter, China had $1.2 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, an increase of $135.7 billion over the end of 2006.
The per capita disposable income of urban residents was 3935 yuan, up 19.5% over 2006, while rural residents income was up 15.2%, year-on-year, to 1260 yuan. According to an accompanying release, the Chinese government views “imbalanced balance of payments, excessive liquidity, irrational economic structure and high pressure on energy conservation and pollutant emission reduction,” as “outstanding problems” for its economy going forward.—[email protected]
0 comments
Hide comments
