 Wen says toughest year ahead; CAS puts GDP growth at 8.3%
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-01-20 07:42
The country's economy faces the toughest year since 2000, Premier Wen Jiabao said at an executive meeting of the State Council yesterday. At the meeting held to discuss the draft government work report, Wen said more steps should be taken in the first quarter to revert the economic slowdown and ensure a good start to 2009. The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), however, said the GDP growth will remain at 8.3 percent this year. A CAS report, released yesterday, forecast that the economic slump would continue in the first half of the year. But the graph would rise northward in the third quarter because of the government's policy support. The CAS said foreign trade would bear the brunt of the global financial crisis, with its 2-digit growth rate falling to 5.7 percent this year. But the consumer price index, a key gauge of inflation, will remain low at 0.75 percent. China Daily - Xinhua
(China Daily 01/20/2009 page1) |
