China's Industrial Output Expects Faster Growth in Q4: Minister

BEIJING, Nov. 3 -- China's industrial output growth would continue to accelerate in the fourth quarter, Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Yizhong said here Monday.

    China's industrial production had "surmounted the most difficult time" and was expected to grow 15 to 16 percent year on year in the fourth quarter, hopeful to make a full year growth rate of 10 to 11 percent, Li told a function here.

    Industrial output in the third quarter registered a 12.4 percent year-on-year growth rate, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on October 22.

    The figure for the first nine months was up 8.7 percent from a year earlier, 6.5 percentage points lower than that of a year ago, the NBS said.

    The government's economic stimulus package and other policies to address the economic downturn had produced remarkable effects as the country's industrial investment continued to grow, and power consumption and railway transportation were recovering, Li said.

    China's gross domestic product (GDP) accelerated to 8.9 percent year on year in the third quarter, and 7.7 percent year on year in the first nine months, according to the NBS.

    Li said China stood a fair chance of achieving its GDP goal of 8 percent in 2009.

    However, uncertainties and complexities remained as the global consumption demand was still weak and unemployment rate remained high, he said.

    China should step up efforts to restructure its economy by promoting innovation and technological upgrading, conserving energy and cutting emissions, and integrating information technologies with industrial development, he said.

    (Source: Xinhua)