Minister expects growth of 9pc

Mainland economic growth will be 9 per cent or higher this year, with inflation under 2 per cent, Minister of State Planning Chen Jinhua said at the Hague. He said mainland foreign exchange reserves may exceed US$140 billion at the end of the month, and said foreign trade would reach $320 billion, up 11.5 per cent compared with last year.

Economic growth in the three years to 2000 might be more than the annual 8 per cent envisaged in the government's five-year plan, he said. China's economy continued to maintain 'good development momentum' but faced problems that needed to be addressed. 'Overall, quality and efficiency are not high, the economic structure is not rational, and some state-owned enterprises' vitality is not strong,' he said.