China's economy grows at 10.3 per cent in 2010
20 Jan 2011
China's economy grew at 10.3 per cent in 2010 against 9.2 per cent in 2009, official data showed. This is the fastest pace of growth of the Chinese economy since the onset of the global financial crisis that undermined the country's economic growth.
Gross domestic product (GDP) of the country hit 39.8 trillion yuan ($6.05 trillion) last year, up 10.3 per cent year-on-year at comparable prices, data provided by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.
China's economy picked up momentum in the fourth quarter, when GDP grew at 9.8 per cent year-on-year from 9.6 per cent in the third quarter, after slowing from 11.9 per cent in the first quarter and 10.3 per cent in the second.
China also partly succeeded in arresting the pace of consumer price inflation, which lost a bit of steam in December, as Beijing moved to rein in soaring prices.
The country's consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation, rose by 4.6 per cent year-on-year in December compared with 5.1 per cent in November.
China's powerful performance also helped the country overtake Japan as the world's second-largest economy behind the United States.
Amidst soaring food prices, China's consumer price index rose by an average 3.3 per cent for the full 2010, exceeding the government's target of three per cent.
Factory output rose by an average 15.7 per cent in 2010, faster than in 2009, as manufacturers cranked up activity to meet growing demand for Chinese-made goods.
Government spending on infrastructure rose 24.5 per cent over the 12 months, slower than in the previous year, as Beijing started to wind back crisis-stimulus measures. Retail sales rose 18.4 per cent in 2010.
The Chinese government had set the full-year growth target at 8 per cent in early 2010, after the economy recovered from the global economic downturn in 2009.
