The downside risk to China's economy is increasing, and some economic indicators deteriorated in November, said China's top economic planner on Thursd

China facing bigger economic downside risk

(Chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-11-27 11:49
The downside risk to China's economy is increasing, and some economic indicators deteriorated in November, said China's top economic planner on Thursday.
The troubling status quo of the country's economy has driven top policy-makers to work day and night, with Premier Wen Jiabao presiding over up to four State Council meetings in a week.
Zhang Ping, minister of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said during a press conference in Beijing Thursday that the central government has meted out a breakdown of the 4-trillion-yuan fiscal stimulus plan. The majority of the investments will be channelled to infrastructure projects, rural residents' medical care and pensions, technological renovation, environment, and tax cuts for businesses and individuals.
Deepening economic woes worldwide are casting a larger shadow on China, the world's fastest growing major economy. Some major economic indicators have shown evident signs of worsening since the beginning of November. Although Zhang did not detail those indicators, analysts said they include the gross domestic product (GDP), exports, capital investments, and the consumer price index (CPI).
China's GDP slowed to 9 percent in the July-September period, down from 9.9 percent in the second quarter. Many economists predict that the growth for the last quarter of 2008 could tumble to as low as 6 percent.
The worst has yet to come as the global financial crisis has not bottomed out, Zhang admitted.