China 'certain' to hit 7.5pc economic growth target

China is certain to hit the government’s economic growth target of 7.5 per cent for this year and could even exceed it, Commerce Minister Chen Deming said on Wednesday.

Chen made the comment at a conference, adding that China would likely spend more than US$70 billion this year on non-financial outbound direct investment.

“In the first three quarters, China’s economy has grown 7.7 per cent from a year ago, therefore, it is for certain that we can achieve the annual GDP target of 7.5 per cent or above, “ Chen said in a speech.

His forecast was seconded by Chen Dongqi, deputy chief at the Academy of Macroeconomics Research, a think-tank under the powerful National Development and Reform Commission. He told the conference, in comments carried by state radio, that growth would reach between 7.6 and 7.7 per cent this year.

China’s growth rate has slowed for seven successive quarters and is on course for its weakest full year of expansion since 1999, albeit at a pace that far outstrips the rest of the world’s major economies.

The minister’s remarks on growth echo those made by an official from the National Bureau of Statistics in October when economic data for the third quarter revealed annual growth had dipped to 7.4 per cent.