According to the preliminary figures, China's gross domestic product (GDP) in the first three quarters of 2009 reached RMB 21.7817 trillion, up 7.7 percent year on year, a climb of 0.6 of a percentage point compared with the growth rate for the first half of this year. Looking at the various quarters in turn, China's GDP expanded by 6.1 percent in the first quarter, by 7.9 percent in the second, and by 8.9 percent in the third.
1. Agriculture production in China has maintained its stable development.
2. Industrial output speeded up its growth quarter by quarter, with a slowdown in profit decreases for enterprises. In the first three quarters of 2009, the industrial output of major industrial enterprises with annual sales of more than RMB 5 million saw a rise of 8.7 percent, 6.5 percentage points lower than the increase rate for January-September 2008.
In the January-August period of this year, the aggregate profits of China's major industrial enterprises were down 10.6 percent to RMB 1.6747 trillion, 12.2 percentage points lower compared with the decline rate for the January-May period.
3. With fast growth in fixed assets investments, accelerated expansion was seen in real estate development. In the first three quarters of this year, China's fixed assets investments rose 33.4 percent to RMB 15.5057 trillion, up 6.4 percentage points compared with the growth rate for the same period last year. Urban fixed assets investments reached RMB 13.3177 trillion, up 33.3 percent year on year, 5.7 percentage points higher than the increase rate for the first half of this year, while real estate investments were up 17.7 percent to RMB 2.5050 trillion, up 7.8 percentage points year on year.
4. Domestic market consumption grew steadily and quickly. In January-September, China's retail sales went up 15.1 percent to RMB 8.9676 trillion, with this growth rate up 2.8 percentage points year on year.
5. In the first three quarters of 2009, the consumer price index was down 1.1 percent year on year, with the September consumer price index (CPI) up 0.4 percent over the previous month. China's producer price index (PPI) dropped 6.5 percent year on year in the first three quarters of this year, with the September PPI up by 0.6 percent from a month earlier. Purchase prices for raw materials, fuel and power dropped by 9.5 percent in the January-September period.
6. In the first three quarters of the current year, China's combined imports and exports totaled $1.5578 trillion in value, down 20.9 percent year on year, with exports down 21.3 percent to $846.6 billion and imports down 20.4 percent to $711.2 billion. Meanwhile, China's trade surplus declined by $45.5 billion year on year to $135.5 billion.
7. Incomes of both urban and rural inhabitants saw a continuous increase. In the first three quarters of this year, the average per capita disposable income of China's urban population was RMB 12,973, up 9.3 percent year on year, representing an actual growth rate of 10.5 percent after discounting the effect of price factors. Meanwhile, rural residents saw their per capita income increase by 8.5 percent to RMB 4,307, with an actual growth of 9.2 percent.
8. Monetary supply registered fast growth, with a rapid rise seen in loans. By the end of September, broad money M2 reached RMB 58.5 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 29.3 percent. This increase rate was up 11.5 percentage points compared with the end of 2008. Meanwhile, at the end of September narrow money M1 stood at RMB 20.2 trillion, up 29.5 percent year on year. The M1 growth rate was up 20.5 percentage points over the end of last year. Loans issued by Chinese financial institutions totaled RMB 39.0 trillion in the first three quarters, up RMB 5.2 trillion year on year and up RMB 8.7 trillion compared with the end of 2008.
According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, the Chinese economy is in a critical stage of both stabilization and moving upward. Yet the basis of the economic recovery still needs to be consolidated. In the following months, China will maintain the continuity and stability of its macroeconomic policies, stick to a proactive fiscal policy and a moderately relaxed monetary policy, and will fully implement the policies and plans adopted earlier by the central government.