Center

Beijing continues 12% growth

By Zhu Zhe (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-01-25 09:08

"Beijing's economic development has been growing steadily for several years," she said. "And as long as we stick to sensible and positive policies, the good economic growth will continue."

Apart from the Olympics, the other factors influencing Beijing's growth were its huge consumption market and a wholesale shift in spending priorities that made its service industry account for 70 percent of the output.

According to available data, consumer spending in the city last year hit 327.5 billion yuan ($42 billion), an increase of 12.8 percent over 2005. Compared to food and clothes, the sale of cars and houses saw a bigger increase.

"The consumption pattern for the Chinese has shifted from food and clothing to real estate, cars, and mobile phones... This is what drives our development," Yu said. Upgrading of technology in State-owned enterprises, too, contributed to the growth.

The rapid growth, however, has not been at the expense of the environment. Figures show that water consumption per unit of GDP dropped 11.2 percent, and total sulphur dioxide emission was cut by 7.9 percent last year, Yu said. Energy consumption per unit of GDP fell, too.

Despite all this, the economic picture is not completely rosy. The bureau said micro-control measures over the real estate market and lending were still not effective. And the huge income gap between people in the cities and rural areas may threaten future economic growth.

                                                                          (China Daily 01/25/2007 page4)