The mainland's economy is estimated to have grown by 10.4 per cent year on year in the first six months of this year, accelerating from a growth rate of 10.3 per cent in the first quarter, the country's top economic planning agency said yesterday.
The National Development and Reform Commission's Academy of Macroeconomic Research said in a research report published yesterday that it expected full-year economic growth to come in at 10.2 per cent this year.
In May, the National Bureau of Statistics revised the gross domestic product growth rate for the first quarter of this year to 10.3 per cent, up from a preliminary estimate of 10.2 per cent.
Bureau chief Qiu Xiaohua last week said he expected the economy would have expanded by more than 10 per cent in the first half of this year and would 'possibly' grow more than 9 per cent for the full year. The government's growth target for the year is 8 per cent.
The rapid growth in the first quarter, fuelled by soaring capital spending on the back of excessive liquidity and credit, has prompted the central government to step up a slew of tightening measures to cool the economy.
The academy suggested the central bank should increase benchmark interest rates by 0.25 of a percentage point to drain excessive liquidity from the market.