SteelOrbis Shanghai
According to the preliminary figures, in 2008 China's gross domestic product (GDP) reached RMB 30.067 trillion ($4.4022 trillion), up 9.0 percent year on year. Looking at the various quarters in turn, China's GDP grew 10.6 percent in the first quarter, 10.1 percent in the second, 9.0 percent in the third and 6.8 percent in the fourth quarter.
1. Agriculture production continued to see stable development, with the grain harvest achieving a fifth successive year of growth.
2. Industrial output in China recorded a slowdown in its growth in 2008, with reduced profits for enterprises. The industrial output of major industrial enterprises with annual sales of more than RMB 5 million saw a rise of 12.9 percent year on year, i.e., 5.6 percentage points lower than in 2007. In the January-November period of 2008, the aggregate profits of major industrial enterprises in China were up 4.9 percent year on year to RMB 2.4066 trillion ($352.4 billion).
3. With fast growth in fixed assets investments, improvement was seen in the investment structure. In 2008, China's fixed assets investments rose 25.5 percent year on year to RMB 17.2291 trillion ($2.5226 trillion), up 0.7 of a percentage point from 2007. Urban fixed assets investments were up 26.1 percent to RMB 14.8167 trillion ($2.1694 trillion), with the growth rate up 0.3 of a percentage point from the previous year.
4. Domestic market consumption grew rapidly in 2008. China's retail sales went up 21.6 percent to RMB 10.8488 trillion ($1.5884 trillion), up 4.8 percentage points.
5. In 2008, China's consumer prices shot up in the first half of the year before starting to move on a stable trend in the second half. The consumer price index (CPI) was up 5.9 percent, 1.1 percentage points higher than in 2007.
6. China's foreign trade volume retained its fast development trend in 2008, though a considerable decrease was seen in the fourth quarter. China's combined imports and exports in 2008 totaled $2.5616 trillion, up 17.8 percent year on year. In 2008 China's exports rose 17.2 percent to $1.4285 trillion; meanwhile, imports were up 18.5 percent to $1.1331 trillion, resulting in a trade surplus of $295.5 billion for the year 2008, up $32.8 billion.
7. With employment characterized by overall stability, incomes of both urban and rural residents continued to increase.
8. China's monetary supply saw a rapid increase in 2008, accompanied by a considerable rise in loans. By the end of December, broad money M2 reached RMB 47.5 trillion ($7 trillion), up 17.8 percent year on year, with growth up 1.1 of a percentage point over the previous year. Loans issued by China's financial institutions in 2008 totaled RMB 30.3468 trillion ($4.4432 trillion), an increase of RMB 4.9114 trillion ($719.1 billion), up RMB 1.2792 trillion ($187.3 billion) compared with the previous year.