Ma Jiantang

Commissioner, National Bureau of Statistics of China

January 22, 2009

In the unusual and extraordinary year of 2008, under the correct leadership of the Central Party Committee and the State Council, the people of the whole country carried on a tenacious fight with one heart and one mind against the impacts from grief natural disasters and the international financial crisis, and the overall national economy realized the good developing momentum of faster growth, stabilized prices, optimized structures and improved welfare.

According to preliminary estimation, the gross domestic product (GDP) for the year was 30,067.0 billion yuan, up by 9.0 percent. In terms of growth by quarters, it was up 10.6 percent for the first quarter, 10.1 percent growth for the second, 9.0 percent for the third and 6.8 percent for the fourth. In terms of growth by sectors, the value added of the primary industry was 3,400.0 billion yuan, up by 5.5 percent; that of the secondary industry was 14,618.3 billion yuan, up by 9.3 percent; and that of the tertiary industry was 12,048.7 billion yuan, up by 9.5 percent.

I. Agricultural production kept a steady growth with increase in grain output for five consecutive years.

In 2008, the total output of grain reached 528.50 million tons, an increase of 26.90 million tons over the previous year, up by 5.4 percent with an output increase for the fifth year. Of this total, the output of summer grain was 120.41 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 3.05 million tons; the output of early rice was 31.58 million tons, a growth of 60,000 tons over that in the previous year; the output of autumn grain was 376.51 million tons, a year-on-year growth of 23.79 million tons. The outputs of oil-bearing seeds and sugar were expected to grow over 12 percent and 6 percent respectively. The output of meat continued to grow and the production of pigs made a quick recovery. In 2008, the total output of meat reached 72.50 million tons, up by 5.9 percent; and the total stocks of pigs rose by 4.5 percent at the end of the year.

II. Industrial production slowed down with a drop of profits made by enterprises.

In 2008, the value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size was up by 12.9 percent, or 5.6 percentage points lower than that in 2007. Analysis on different types of enterprises showed that the value added of the state-owned and state holding enterprises went up by 9.1 percent; collective enterprises, up by 8.1 percent; share-holding enterprises, up by 15.0 percent; and up by 9.9 percent for the enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. The growth of the heavy industry was 13.2 percent and that of the light industry was 12.3 percent. In terms of different areas, the growth in eastern, central and western regions went up by 11.6 percent, 15.8 percent and 15.0 percent respectively. The sales ratio was 97.7 percent for the industrial enterprises above the designated size.

In the first eleven months of 2008, the profits made by industrial enterprises above the designated size reached 2,406.6 billion yuan, which was 4.9 percent higher than that in the same period of last year. Among the 39 industrial divisions, 31 divisions registered year-on-year growth with profits. The top five divisions of profits were petroleum and natural gas exploitation; mining and washing of coal; manufacturing of transportation equipment; manufacturing of raw chemical materials and chemical products; and smelting and pressing of ferrous metals.

III. Investment kept a faster growth with an improvement of investment structure.

In 2008, the total investment in fixed assets of the country reached 17,229.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 25.5 percent, with an increase of 0.7 percentage points over the previous year. Of this total, the fixed assets investment in urban areas was 14,816.7 billion yuan, up by 26.1 percent, or 0.3 percentage points higher; and that in rural areas was 2,412.4 billion yuan, up by 21.5 percent. The fixed assets investment in urban areas was composed of 225.6 billion yuan in the primary industry, a year-on-year increase of 54.5 percent; 6,503.6 billion yuan in the secondary industry, up 28.0 percent; and 8,087.5 billion yuan in the tertiary industry, up 24.1 percent. In terms of different areas, the investment in urban areas in eastern, central and western regions grew by 21.3 percent, 33.5 percent and 26.7 percent respectively. The total investment in the real estate development for the year was 3,058.0 billion yuan, a growth of 20.9 percent.