7% goal achievable
By Zhang Dingmin (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-05-22 08:14

China will not have a problem meeting its 7 per cent economic growth target this year, and the barreling economy is not heading towards a hard-landing as some fear, a senior government official said yesterday.

Li Deshui, director of the National Bureau of Statistics, said the central government's macroeconomic policies have shown some initial results, but more efforts are needed, especially among local governments, to implement those policies.

"As long as the entire nation faithfully implements the measures that have been announced, over-investment in certain industries can surely be contained," he told the China Economic Summit 2004, which started yesterday.

Despite some tightening measures in the latter half of last year, China's fixed investment continued 2003's sizzling growth to surge by 42.8 per cent in the first four months of this year, prompting the government to stage further policy initiatives last month, including some controversial administrative measures.

The fast growth in fixed investment and lending, as well as rising prices especially for raw materials and energy, triggered worries about an overheating Chinese economy.

And this year's frequent tightening actions, announced in what some analysts called an incoherent way, fuelled fears of an abrupt economic slowdown, or a "hard-landing," and led to a broad tumble in financial markets.

Li stressed the government's measures are aimed at a structural adjustment by curbing excessive investment in certain sectors while promoting growth in other areas like agriculture and public facilities, instead of an overall tightening as many foreign investors fear.

"The Chinese economy is not suffering a general overheating, so an overall tightening is unnecessary, and unjustified," he said.

But the official urged local governments, whose strong impulses to make new investments he said were a major reason behind this year's continued fixed assets investment expansion, to toe the line.

"Local leaders should understand the gist of the central government's intention, and act to uphold macroeconomic management policies," Li said.

The official also insisted recent monetary policy actions are efficient, and said the way their effect is slowly showing itself is in tune with the government's intention not to put brakes on the economy.

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