Report: China's economy grows steady

People at a supermarket in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, Aug 25, 2018. [Photo/VCG]

China's overall economy remained robust in the first three quarters of the year, according to a report by 21st Century Business Herald.

While the National Bureau of statistics (NBS) will announce China's economic growth in the first three quarters on Oct 19, financial institutes and research institutions, including the Bank of China, the Bank of Communications, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and the World Bank, have released their latest economic forecasts since the end of September.

The Bank of China, CASS and the Bank of Communications generally believe that China's economic growth still remains stable this year and the growth rate is expected to be around 6.6 to 6.7 percent, with no problem to meet the target of 6.5 percent, the report said.

In addition, economic growth in the third and fourth quarter of the year is expected to reach 6.6 percent and 6.5 to 6.7 percent, respectively.

Lou Feng, director of the Institute of Quantitative and Technical Economics, CASS, said although the international situation has changed greatly and some countries have implemented trade protectionism, it has little impact on China's economy because enterprises are now rushing to export as soon as possible.

"The impact on China of changes in external demand is still in the medium to long term, and the short-term impact on China's economy is limited," Lou said.

In the first eight months of the year, China's trade in goods went up 9.1 percent year-on-year to 19.43 trillion yuan ($2.85 trillion), according to the General Administration of Customs.

Exports rose to 10.34 trillion yuan by 5.4 percent year-on-year in the January-August period, while imports increased to 9.09 trillion yuan by 13.7 percent, resulting in a trade surplus of 1.25 trillion yuan.

The country's purchasing managers' index in the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors came in at 50.8 and 54.9 respectively in September, both still within the expansion range, according to the NBS.

Ning Jizhe, head of the National Bureau of Statistics and deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission, also said China's economy has been running stable this year and is set to continue its steady growth and reach its annual growth target, the report said.