China's economy had been slowed to expand at a more desirable and moderate rate for the five months to May, according to an official macro economy index chart, the national statistics agency reports:
The macro economy index chart, filed by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), showed the latest figure for May was 113.3, the same as the previous four months, making a row of "green lights".
By most indicators, 2007 was yet another bang-up year for China. The country's economy continued to sizzle, and President Hu Jintao was re-anointed as Chinese Communist Party (CCP)general secretary for another five years, Asian Times reports:
In addition, a proud nation launched its first lunar probe, further staking its claim in space, and is preparing to host next summer's Olympic Games. In short, this year's events serve as a further reminder that China, after suffering a bloody and tumultuous 20th century, has arrived on the world stage as a nation respected by the developed world and envied and copied by the developing one.
China and the United States opened thorny trade talks Wednesday amid rising frustration by Washington over Chinese trade barriers and implied threats by Beijing that U.S. protectionist moves would cut both ways, The Businessweek reports:
Both sides stressed the countries' growing economic interdependence, but differed on what steps were needed to shrink China's massive trade surplus.
The start of the two-day China-U.S. Strategic Economic dialogue follows a similar forum in Beijing on Tuesday that produced wide-ranging agreements on boosting Chinese tourism to the U.S., increasing safeguards over Chinese products and opening up mid-sized Chinese cities to American imports.
Over the weekend, China again hiked the reserve ratio for commercial banks by 100 basis points to 14.5% beginning Dec. 26 as a high-level planning meeting promised both lower growth and inflation next year, The Market Watch reports:
The National Development and Reform Commission, China's top planning agency, said on Friday it aimed to hold growth at 10% in 2008 and cap full year inflation at 4 to 4.5%.
China's consumption of apparent crude oil and refined oil products hit a record high in the first half of the year, totaling 173.03 million tons and 106.112 million tons respectively, up 6.8 per cent and 9.6 per cent on the previous year.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the "apparent consumption" represents the sum of net imports and output but excludes inventory.
Crude oil output rose by 1.7 per cent to 93.31 million tons and refined oil output increased by 7.2 per cent to 95.972 million tons, ANTARA News reports:
China raised interest rates in the latest of a series of tightening steps aimed at keeping inflation in check and preventing the world's fourth-largest economy from overheating, Reuters reports:
The increase came a day after the government reported that annual growth accelerated to 11.9 percent in the second quarter, the fastest rate in 11- years, from 11.1 percent in the first quarter.
The main priority for the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) over the next two years will be to maintain political stability in order to ensure the success of both the 17th party congress, due in late 2007, and the Olympic Games in the capital, Beijing, to be held in August 2008, The Economist Intelligence Unit reports:
As the party congress approaches, the president, Hu Jintao, will continue to strengthen his influence through the appointment of allies to important positions. Real GDP growth will slow slightly from 10.7% in 2006 to a forecast 10.5% in 2007 and 9.6% in 2008.
Having passionately embraced blogging, bulletin boards (BBS) and MMORPG (massively multi-player online role-playing games), China's burgeoning Internet population will soon have an array of three-dimensional virtual worlds and 3D social networks in which to work and play. By the end of 2011, 80% of global Internet users will be involved in some kind of web-based virtual activity. That would give China a virtual population bigger than the entire population of Mexico or the Philippines, writes Asia Times:
China's inflation accelerated at the fastest pace in more than two years in May as pork prices soared, increasing the likelihood that interest rates will be raised, Bloomberg reports:
Consumer prices rose 3.4 percent from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said today. That was more than the 3.3 percent expected by economists. April's inflation rate was 3 percent, matching the central bank's 2007 target.
Meat prices surged 26.5 percent, helping to push inflation above the target and adding to concern that the world's fastest- growing major economy may overheat. Inflation is outpacing returns on bank deposits, encouraging households to put money into a stock market that the government is trying to cool.
China is on course to catch up with the United States and join the front ranks of world economic powers, but that is little cause for concern even among Americans, according to a global survey, AFP reports:
But the same poll showed there is generally as much distrust of the United States as there is of China to "act responsibly" in world affairs.
China’s central bank widened its daily trading band against the dollar for the renminbi to 0.5 per cent from 0.3 per cent, while raising interest rates and banks’ reserve requirements, Financial Times reports:
The widening of the trading band is sure to fuel expectations that China will allow the renminbi to rise at a faster rate as its politically sensitive trade surplus soars. However, People’s Bank of China insisted the move was just a further step in its gradual reform of its currency exchange regime and that it should not be seen as prelude to a revaluation.
