Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Sunday that a slowdown in second quarter growth to 10.3 percent was in line with expectations, but warned of economic difficulties ahead. Wen made the remarks during a weekend tour of north China's Shaanxi province where he said the slow pace of the global economic recovery posed dangers to his nation, according to a report on his government's website.
"So far this year, our nation's economy is continuing to develop in the direction set by our macro-economic controls," Wen was quoted as saying. "The progress made has not come easy. Faced with the current situation, we must fully anticipate the difficulties and problems ahead and strengthen our awareness of the dangers."
China announced last week that its economic growth slowed in the second quarter, as massive stimulus spending was scaled back and moves to rein in soaring property prices started to bite. Gross domestic product in the world's third-largest economy maintained double-digit growth for the third quarter in a row, expanding 10.3 percent in the three months to June, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
"The global economy is recovering, but at a slow pace. There are many uncertainties. We should expand domestic demand while stabilising overseas demand," Wen said during his inspection tour. "Only through sound and relatively fast economic growth can we ensure employment and facilitate the restructuring of our mode of economic development."
During a visit Shaanxi Automobile Group Co and the Shaanxi Huasheng (Group) Corp Fruit Co Ltd, Wen said his government would deepen efforts to wean the economy off its dependency on exports and further stimulate domestic demand.
The government will also implement policies aimed at helping Chinese companies develop new products and expand market reach, he said. China's second quarter figure marked a slowdown from the blistering 11.9 percent growth in January-March and the 10.7 percent in the last three months of 2009, after Beijing introduced a range of measures to cool the red-hot economy. The latest data add to mounting evidence that the Chinese economy is losing steam, although Beijing has so far shown no intention of reversing tightening policies, and analysts downplayed the risk of a sharp let-up.
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