China targets 7.5-pct GDP growth

 　　BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government announced Tuesday that its GDP growth target will remain around 7.5 percent this year to leave room for economic restructuring.

　　The target is intended to help create jobs and improve people's well-being¹, Premier² Wen Jiabao said while delivering his last government work report to the opening session of 12th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature.

　　This marks the second consecutive³ year for the world's second-largest economy to target 7.5-percent growth. In 2012, the government cut its growth forecast from 8 percent for the first time in eight years.

　　Wen warned of the profound and persisting impact of the global financial crisis, as well as the unstable⁴ recovery of the world economy, as major threats to China's economic growth.

　　However, the premier cited the considerably⁵ increased capacity of China's manufacturing industry, significantly improved infrastructure⁶, a high savings⁷ rate and a large workforce⁸ as favorable factors that will sustain development.

　　"In light of comprehensive considerations, we deem it necessary and appropriate to set this year's target for economic growth at 7.5 percent, a goal that we will have to work hard to attain," Wen told nearly 3,000 national legislators attending the NPC session.

　　"We must maintain a proper level of economic growth in order to provide necessary conditions for creating jobs and improving people's well-being. We must ensure that economic growth is in accordance with the potential economic growth rate," Wen said.

　　China's economic growth eased further to a 13-year low of 7.8 percent in 2012 from 9.3 percent in 2011 and 10.3 percent in 2010. The country's GDP stood at 51.9 trillion yuan (about 8.3 trillion U.S. dollars) last year.

　　Earlier in 2011, the government announced that it would target annual GDP growth of 7 percent from 2011 to 2015.

　　Maintaining a slower growth target is intended to shift the government's focus toward accelerating the change of China's growth model restructuring the economy and improving the quality and performance of economic growth so as to promote sustained and healthy economic development, the premier noted⁹.

　　RAPID GROWTH OVER?

　　Some analysts¹⁰ fear that rapid growth will no longer be possible for China due to domestic and external uncertainties¹¹.

　　The Chinese economy has expanded by an average of 9.3 percent annually¹² over the past five years.

　　But Fan Gang, an economist¹³ and former advisor¹⁴ to China's central bank, said it is too early to come to that conclusion.

　　"China is far from saying goodbye to rapid growth, but rapid growth is not necessarily equivalent to overheated growth or two-digit growth highlighted by soaring inflation and asset bubbles," Fan said.

　　An ideal growth rate for China would be around 8 percent, said Fan, who once served as an economic advisor to China's Cabinet.

　　"From this perspective, I see no problem for China to maintain rapid growth for another 20 or 30 years," said Fan.

　　Wang Yiming, deputy director of the Macroeconomic Research Institute under the National Development and Reform Commission, said China's potential economic growth rate has dropped to between 7 and 8 percent.

　　"Therefore, the 7.5-percent target this year is in accordance with the potential rate," Wang said.

　　As promised by the Communist Party of China last autumn, China will double its GDP in 2020 in comparison to 2010, which will require the country to keep an average annual growth rate of 7.2 percent during the period.

　　LOWER INFLATION GOAL

　　The government has also decided¹⁵ to rein¹⁶ in inflation more decisively by lowering the control target for this year's consumer price index (CPI) increase to around 3.5 percent, compared with 4 percent targeted last year.

　　"China is still under considerable inflationary pressure this year and maintaining price stability has always been an important macroeconomic control target," Wen said.

　　Apart from upward pressure on the prices of land, labor¹⁷, agricultural products and services, China is facing imported inflationary pressure resulting from quantitative¹⁸ easing policies in major developed countries, he noted.

　　The inflation control target is intended to leave room for adjusting the prices of energy and resources after taking into account the carry-over effect of consumer price rises in 2012, which will contribute about one percentage point to this year's inflation rate.

　　The government cooled the inflation rate to 2.6 percent year on year in 2012 from 5.4 percent in 2011. The rate eased further to 2 percent in January.

　　To achieve its targets, the government has vowed¹⁹ to maintain a proactive fiscal²⁰ policy and a prudent²¹ monetary²² policy this year.

　　HIGHER LOCAL GOALS

　　Compared with the conservative forecast by the central government, almost all local governments except Shanghai were more aggressive in setting much higher GDP targets in advance.

　　Of all 31 provinces, autonomous²³ regions and municipalities on the Chinese mainland, 11 local governments, mainly from central and western regions, aim to boost their local economies by 12 percent or above, while 13 local governments have set their growth targets at 10 percent.

　　The provincial²⁴ government of southwest China's Guizhou Province is aiming for an ambitious growth rate of 14 to 16 percent.

　　"We still facing an arduous²⁵ mission to develop, particularly for an underdeveloped region like Guizhou," said Long Changchun, chief of the province's Qianxinan prefecture.

　　The central government raised its official poverty line by 92 percent to 2,300 yuan in per capital annual income in rural areas in 2011, defining a number equivalent to the population of Japan as poor in China and creating pressure for local authorities to build the world's most populous²⁶ nation into a relatively²⁷ prosperous one by 2020.

　　The municipal government of Shanghai was the only local government to fix its GDP growth target at the same 7.5-percent level, while the provincial government of Guangdong, China's top economic powerhouse, further scaled down its 2013 growth target to 8 percent from 8.5 percent last year.

　　"The growth targets vary by region," explained Liu Shucheng, a political advisor from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

　　"Governments in the relatively underdeveloped central and western regions are eager to catch up with their developed counterparts in eastern and coastal²⁸ regions," Liu said.

　　The growth rate targeted by the central government has been widely interpreted as a minimum acceptable floor rather than a ceiling. The 7.8-percent growth seen in China's economy last year easily surpassed the goal the government set earlier in 2012.

1 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

2 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

3 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

4 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

5 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

6 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

7 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

8 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

11 uncertainties   

无把握( uncertainty的名词复数 )； 不确定； 变化不定； 无把握、不确定的事物

参考例句：

• One of the uncertainties of military duty is that you never know when you might suddenly get posted away. 任军职不稳定的因素之一是你永远不知道什么时候会突然被派往它处。
• Uncertainties affecting peace and development are on the rise. 影响和平与发展的不确定因素在增加。 来自汉英非文学 - 十六大报告

12 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

13 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

14 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

15 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

16 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

17 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

18 quantitative   

adj.数量的，定量的

参考例句：

• He said it was only a quantitative difference.他说这仅仅是数量上的差别。
• We need to do some quantitative analysis of the drugs.我们对药物要进行定量分析。

19 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

20 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

21 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

22 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

23 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

24 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

25 arduous   

adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的

参考例句：

• We must have patience in doing arduous work.我们做艰苦的工作要有耐性。
• The task was more arduous than he had calculated.这项任务比他所估计的要艰巨得多。

26 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

27 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

28 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。