China's sizzling economy grew even faster in 2006 than previously reported,
the government said Wednesday, moving it closer to overtaking Germany as the
world's third-largest and possibly adding to fears of overheating.
The
National Bureau of Statistics raised its estimate of China's 2006 growth rate
from 10.7 percent to 11.1 percent. It nudged
up its estimate of total output by 146.4 billion yuan ($18.8
billion) to 21.1 trillion yuan ($2.705 trillion).
The revision brought China closer to Germany, the world's third-largest
economy after the United States and Japan. Germany's 2006 output was $3 trillion
but its 2.5 percent growth rate was well below China's.
The statistics agency routinely issues such revisions to economic growth
rates. But the latest report could receive special attention from Chinese
leaders, who are trying to rein in a boom that they worry could ignite a
financial crisis.
Chinese leaders want to maintain fast growth to reduce poverty but are trying
to slow investment in auto manufacturing, real estate and other areas where
supply outstrips demand. They worry that runaway spending could ignite inflation
or leave banks and borrowers with dangerously high debt levels.
In the most recent official forecast, the central bank's research bureau said
last month the economy was expected to expand by 10.8 percent this year. That
was in line with projections by the World Bank and other economists, and would
be China's fifth straight year of growth in excess of 10 percent.
Wednesday's revision was in line with the opinions of outside economists, who
said the earlier figure seemed too low, suggesting the economy was slowing
despite surging exports and other indicators.
The change comes amid reports of double-digit
growth in industrial output, investment and other economic
indicators.
China's trade surplus soared to a new monthly high of $26.9 billion in June,
the government reported Tuesday. That was despite official efforts to narrow the
ballooning trade gap by repealing rebates of value-added taxes on exports.
The statistics bureau's brief announcement on Wednesday said the biggest
increase in China's estimated output was in secondary industries, which includes
manufacturing, construction and utilities.
The exact size of China's economy is a matter of debate, with foreign
analysts saying the small statistics agency lacks the resources to provide more
than a general estimate.
In December 2005, Beijing raised the official size of the economy by nearly
17 percent and retroactively boosted annual growth figures for the previous
decade following the first nationwide census of China's booming service
industries such as restaurants.
（AP
