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China Posts Lower But Solid Growth Figures

   VOA News 21 October 2010

   China's  closely-watched  economy  registered reduced but still strong
   growth in the latest three-month period.
   The  government  report  Thursday  comes  just  two days after China's
   central  bank  raised interest rates for the first time in three years
   in  an  effort to slow inflation and prevent asset bubbles. The report
   said the economy grew at a 9.6 percent annual rate in July, August and
   September.
   That  compared  to  10.3  percent and 11.9 percent in the two previous
   three-month  periods,  but  still  was  slightly better than analysts'
   expectations.   A government spokesman (National Bureau of Statistics
   spokesman  Sheng Laiyun) told reporters, "the good developing momentum
   of the economy was further consolidated."
   The  government  also  reported slightly higher inflation, with prices
   rising at a 3.6 percent annual rate in September. That was up from 3.5
   percent in August.
   With  rising consumer demand and an enormous hunger for raw materials,
   China has become an important engine of economic growth for the entire
   Asian  region.  Growth  in China slowed considerably during the global
   slump  in  2008  and  2009  but has rebounded since the second half of
   2009.

   Some  information  for  this report was provided by AP, AFP, Bloomberg
   and Reuters.

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