Downturn pressure unexpectedly great in Guangdong

Guangdong, a pioneer province for reform, is now under unexpectedly great economic downturn pressure.

In its report yesterday, China’s official media chinanews.com says “Guangdong Governor Zhu Xiaodan said at a meeting to analyze the economic situation in the first six months this year held on July 11 by the provincial government that though there has been a trend of stabilizing at the bottom of economic growth in Guangdong’s economic development, since the beginning of this year the pressure of economic downturn has exceeded people’s expectation at the beginning of this year. The growth rates of GDP, investment, consumption, import and export, financial income, etc. all fell below the expected development targets for the year.”

According to official estimates, in the first six months, Guangdong Province realized a GDP of 2,665.9 billion yuan (US$418.54 billion), an increase of 7.4% over the same period last year; the total amount of fix-asset investment throughout the province was 769.75 billion yuan (US$120.85 billion), an increase of 10.1%; total retails sales of consumer goods for the communities throughout the province amounted to 1,085.03 billion yuan (US$170.35 billion), an increase of 11.5%; and export amounted to US$218.52 billion, an increase of 6.9%. Expenditures on people’s livelihood amounted to 178.93 billion yuan (US$28.09 billion), an increase of 12.2%.

Zhu Xiaodan said that judging by the above figures, a trend of stabilizing at bottom has emerged in Guangdong’s economic development. Pattern transformation and upgrading in industries have sped up, investment structure has been optimized further, sound progress has been made in energy conservation and reduction of materials consumption, and the structure of foreign trade keeps on optimizing. However, people shall see soberly that since the beginning of this year the pressure of economic downturn has greatly exceeded people’s expectation at the beginning of this year. This in essence reflects the combined effect of the long-accumulated structural contradiction and the factor of cyclical economic fluctuation. It puts Guangdong under the dual pressures of stabilizing growth and readjusting structure.

Zhu Xiadan pointed out that in spite of the emergence of the stabilization at a lower growth rate in Guangdong’s economic development, the downturn pressure in the second half of the year is after all not easing and the difficulties and risks the province may face in its economic development shall not be underestimated. All areas and departments in the province must enhance their awareness of the troubles ahead.

Zhu Xiaodan called on Guangdong to make utmost efforts in the later half of this year to turn around the continuous decrease of investment and regard it as the priority among all the priorities in expanding domestic demand and stabilizing growth. At the same time, it shall step up putting forward the policies and measures to promote service trade and speed up development, boost the implementation of the policies and measures of fostering domestic transnational companies, stimulate the development of key projects abroad and major transnational takeover and merger and continue to promote pattern transformation and upgrading in industries, boost harmonized development of scientific, technological and financial industries, help enterprises tide over crises and transform their development patterns and do sound good jobs related to people’s livelihood.

About these ads

---