Resisting pressure, China confident of meeting economic target

BEIJING, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Resisting persistent pressures fromexternal uncertainties and domestic structural adjustments, China'seconomy has continued to expand and upgrade steadily as the governmentcontinues to push reforms and open up its market.

Readings of major economic indicators released by the National Bureauof Statistics (NBS) Thursday revealed continued growth in the first 10months, with value-added industrial output expanding 5.6 percent year onyear.

The growth rate was flat compared with that for the first threequarters. In October alone, industrial output climbed 4.7 percent, downfrom 5.8 percent registered in September.

Fixed-asset investment grew 5.2 percent, while retail sales ofconsumer goods rose 8.1 percent in the January-October period, bothslightly retreating from the rate in the first three quarters.

While short-term factors had led to fluctuations in some of theindicators, overall economic activities remained stable as reflected ingrowth, employment, inflation and international balance of payments, NBSspokesperson Liu Aihua said at a press conference.

"The trend of overall economic stability with signs of improvement has not changed," Liu said.

China's job market remained generally stable, with the surveyed urbanunemployment rate dropping 0.1 percentage points to 5.1 percent lastmonth.

A total of 11.93 million new urban jobs were created during the first10 months, meeting this year's target of adding more than 11 millionurban jobs ahead of schedule, according to the bureau.

The steady job market means steady income growth, which will create a solid foundation for boosting consumption, Liu noted.

As evidence of the country's consumption power, China's major onlineshopping platforms shattered records during the recent Singles' Dayshopping spree.

Alibaba said the Singles' Day sales on its online shopping platformsreached a record 268.4 billion yuan (about 38.3 billion U.S. dollars),marking a year-on-year growth of about 25.7 percent. JD.com hit 204.4billion yuan from Nov. 1 to 11 and Suning's order volume in the firsthour after midnight on Nov. 11 increased by 89 percent year on year.

Among the bright spots, China's service industry maintained steadyexpansion, with the production index of the service sector increasing by7 percent.

The high-tech manufacturing saw a rise of 8.3 percent in value added,to beat the overall industrial output growth by 3.6 percentage points.

Investment in high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services rose 14.5 percent and 13.7 percent year on year, respectively.

As China continues to optimize the business environment and open upits market, the country has the "foundation, conditions and confidence"to achieve its preset full-year growth target, Liu stressed.

China's economy expanded 6.2 percent in the first three quarters, within the government's annual target of 6 to 6.5 percent.