Witnessing the dramatic turns, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) raised its estimation of China's economic growth five times over the past few months.

Steering the huge economy of a nation with a population of 1.3 billion requires skilled and courageous hands.

Weathered through the Asian financial crisis, the recession in the world economy, the onset of SARS, natural disasters and the ever-changing international climate, the Chinese Government has found a way to maintain rapid economic growth by expanding domestic demand and stimulating consumption.

Premier Wen Jiabao said China should not and cannot depend on other countries for its development. Instead, the country has to rely on its own efforts to achieve development.

According to ADB estimates, China's economic growth was boosted almost entirely by domestic investment and consumption.

The huge demand of the domestic market has turned China into the world's largest consumer of coal, steel and copper. It is estimated that since the country must urbanize rural areas to accommodate more than 10 million rural people every year, the scale of infrastructure development each year is equal to the construction of a city the size of Chicago. Huge investment demand is believed to be able to sustain long-term economic growth in the future.

Official estimates show China's investment in fixed assets will grow 23 per cent this year. As China exceeded the United States as the world's largest destination for foreign direct investment (FDI), domestic investment in China became even larger.

The FDI accounted for only 10 per cent of the country's total 5.3 trillion yuan (US$641 billion) capital investment this year.

As China strives to upgrade its industrial structure, the process was promoted by the trend of globalization. In 2003, high-tech industries were expected to contribute 27 per cent to the growth of Chinese industry. The competitiveness of made-in-China products has drawn attention from international competitors.

The two engines of the China economy - the Yangtze River Delta and Zhujiang River Delta - are attracting more multinational companies to establish manufacturing bases and research and development centres.

This year, the Chinese Government launched a strategic campaign to rejuvenate the old Northeast China industrial bases as it began to implement 100 major projects. In combination with the strategic move to develop the western areas of the country, a new and balanced growth pattern is taking shape.

The Wall Street Journal said this move will lay the foundation for longer term growth and reduce the economy's dependence on exports and foreign investment.

As China steadily merges into the world economy, it is becoming one of the major players in an increasingly multi-polar global economy. As one of the fastest growth exports markets in the world, the country is planning to import US$1 trillion worth of goods or services in the next three years.

The ADB predicts that China will see a limited trade deficit next year, if the current trend of its imports growth continued. This proves China is making a greater contribution to global growth, sources from the ADB said.

China absorbed two-thirds of the exports from Japan, becoming one of the major factors for the improvement of the Japanese economy.

At the same time, China realized benefits from globalization. Despite the strike of SARS, China is expected to see a record foreign trade volume of more than US$800 billion this year, with its exports surging over 30 per cent.

Local economists say the Chinese economy has entered a growth period. Goldman Sachs of the United States predicts China will maintain the current annual growth rate of around 8 per cent in the coming years.

(Xinhua)