China will meet 7% growth target - bank report
( 2002-03-07 09:59) (1)
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) on Wednesday gave an unfavourable prediction for major economies in the world, but it said China will be capable of meeting its 7 per cent growth target in 2002.
In a rare publicized economic prospects report by the central bank, it said the US economic growth rate is likely to be lower than 2 per cent this year.
The European Union (EU) is expected to grow by less than 1.5 per cent, and the Japanese economy is likely to linger in the negative territory, PBOC said in the report.
The weak demand from the international markets will lead to a shrinking trade surplus in China. China's imports are expected to grow faster than last year, thanks to lowered tariffs brought on by China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) and possibly devalued Asian currencies, pressured by a falling Japanese yen.
The PBOC predicted China's imports will grow by 9.5 per cent, versus 8.2 per cent last year.
China's export growth rate will move in the opposite direction. The report said the export growth rate is likely to slow to 6.2 per cent from 6.8 per cent last year.
However, the Chinese economy remains under the support of respectable investment and consumption growth, which the PBOC predicted will expand by 12.5 per cent and 10 per cent respectively this year.
The central bank has said it will pursue an appropriate money supply growth to support the economy.
M1, a measurement of money supply that covers cash and corporate deposit, is expected to grow by 13 per cent, compared with 12.7 per cent last year.
M2, which include cash and all sorts of deposits, is aimed to grow by 13 per cent as well, compared with 14.4 per cent last year, the central bank said in the report.
|
