FORGING AHEAD AGAINST HEADWINDS.docVIP

FORGING AHEAD AGAINST HEADWINDS 　　On January 20， Ning Jizhe， Director of the National Bureau of Statistics， commented on China’s economic performance in 2016 at a press briefing held by the State Council Information Office. Ning answered questions from the media on topics including China’s economic slowdown， the rising debt ratio， property market and income disparity. An edited translation of the interview follows： 　　GDP growth of 6.7 percent―especially the rate of 6.8 percent in the fourth quarter last year―may draw considerable attention throughout the country. With supply-side structural reform being pursued in order to change the industrial landscape and the goals of economic transformation set as early as the end of the last century， is 2016 supposed to be a watershed year marking the evolution of the Chinese economy？ 　　Ning Jizhe： The Chinese economy has progressed to the phase known as the“new normal”. A growth of 6.7 percent is reasonable， as it was earlier estimated to grow between 6.5 and 7 percent. It could be called mid- to high-speed growth， and it remains high compared to the rest of the world. According to the International Monetary Fund （IMF）， the Chinese economy was expected to grow 6.7 percent in 2016， while India was to achieve 6.6 percent. The growth of the Chinese economy last year probably remained the highest in the world. As the second largest economy in the world， our GDP has amassed $11 trillion， a basis on which an increase of 1 percentage point would result in colossal output levels. 　　The growth is especially significant considering that China has undertaken economic structural advancement as well as a change in economic model. In view of structural reform， the contribution of the service industry to GDP in 2016 continued to grow， as consumption comprised almost two thirds of the national economy. With the change of economic models， energy intensity per unit of GDP last year declined by 5 percent， a figure reflecting painstaking