|
Economy Watch
Economy Watch follows the progress of the world economy and offers you our weekly picks. Be sure to visit for the weekly updates.
|
April 22 updates
| Strong exports big part of China's first quarter growth
A strong rebound in exports played a big part in China's 11.9 percent year-on-year economic growth in the first quarter, said an economist of a government think tank.
Zhang Liqun, a researcher with the State Council's Development Research Center, said the 28.7 percent year-on-year growth in exports had contributed more than 3.44 percentage points to China's GDP growth in the first quarter in a written article published on the China Securities Journal Monday.
While exports in the corresponding period last year dragged down growth by 3.35 percentage points.
The role domestic demand played in boosting economic growth dropped in the first quarter of this year.
Zhang said domestic demand, which includes consumption and investment, contributed 8.46 percentage points to China's 11.9 percent GDP growth in the first quarter. This is compared to 9.45 percentage points in the corresponding period last year.
Zhang said the country's economy was not yet on a path of sustainable growth as domestic demand still largely relied on government incentives.
Stable and relatively faster growth was not a certainty as exports growth was unlikely to maintain the speed of the first quarter, he added.
Zhang said China needs to expand consumption demand by readjusting income distribution and stepping up urbanisation. Economic restructuring and a change of growth model at the same time should be promoted for longer-term sustainable growth
EU becomes largest export destination of China's trade hub
The European Union surpassed the United States in the first quarter of 2010 as the largest export market for Suzhou city, a trade hub in east China's Jiangsu Province, said local customs.
Suzhou sold 8.83 billion U.S. dollars worth of goods to the EU during the first quarter, up by 57.1 percent year on year, while exporting 7.98 billion U.S. dollars worth of goods to the U.S. for the same period, up by 25.2 percent year on year, said a spokesperson with Suzhou Customs.
"The EU has been Suzhou's number one export destination for years except for the second half of 2009 when it was overtaken by the U.S.," said the spokesperson.
The trade rise was due to many countries' stimulus packages which raised their global purchasing power as well as China's policy incentives, such as export tax rebates, according to the spokesperson.
Suzhou's international trade was worth 59.95 billion U.S. dollars from January to March, which was the fourth largest in China after Shanghai, Beijing and southern Guangdong Province's Shenzhen. Suzhou covers 8,488 square km with a population of 8.26 million people in 2009.
|
|
|