Chinese economy bounces back: 2009 GDP up 8.7 percent

Preliminary statistics released by the Chinese government have shown that the country’s GDP in 2009 reached 33.5 trillion Yuan (USD $4.9 trillion), up by 8.7 percent calculated at comparable price, while the growth rate dropped by 0.9 percent compared with 2008. On the quarter-by-quarter basis, the economy grew steadily from 6.2 percent in Q1 to 10.7 percent in Q4. 

Industrial production gradually recovered. Profits from 30 major industries out of 39 grew compared with the same period of the previous year, while investment in fixed assets is also up.  

Total retail sales of consumer goods throughout the year stood at 12.5343 trillion Yuan (USD $1.83 trillion), a growth rate of 16.9 percent in 2009 and an increase of 2.1 percent compared with 2008. Retail sales in urban areas reached 8.5133 trillion Yuan (USD $1.19 trillion), up by 15.5 percent. Outside the major conurbations, retail sales of consumer goods (at and below county level) also showed a healthy 15.7 percent growth, standing at 4.0210 trillion Yuan (USD $0.58 trillion) by the end of last year.  

Retail sales of 20 consumer goods categories grew by a large margin – for example, garments, shoes and hats, fabrics and clothing up by 18.8 percent, furniture by 35.5 percent and automobiles 32.3 percent. 

Prices paid by consumers were on the decrease throughout the year, but are now rising for some products like tobacco, liquor, medical care and personal products, food, together with household facilities and maintenance.  

Income levels of urban and rural residents maintained steady growth, and employment levels were better than expected. Per capital income of urban residents totaled 18,858 Yuan (RMB). Disposable income of urban residents amounted to 17,175 Yuan (USD $2,750), up by 8.8 percent compared with the previous year. Deducting price factors, the actual growth was 9.8 percent.   

The global crisis slashed China’s budget surplus by almost USD $100 billion. Total export volume was down by 16 percent, and imports down by 11.2 percent, resulting in a trade surplus of USD $196.1 billion.