New | China cuts industrial output growth target
New economic development model leads to lower goal for the industrial sector
China has cut its target for industrial production growth this year to 8 per cent, a level in line with broad expectations that Beijing will tolerate slower economic expansion of about 7 per cent this year.
"While the [industrial production] target would slow a tad from last year's actual pace, we still think it's not a low goal," Huang Libin, a senior Ministry of Industry and Information Technology official, said yesterday.
"Meeting the target would still require very hard work as the economic development enters a 'new normal' with the speed changing to a lower tier, pains being felt from structural adjustment and growth engines shifting from one to another."
Industrial production grew 8.3 per cent last year, missing the target of about 9.5 per cent.
ANZ Bank economist Zhou Hao said growth of about 8 per cent in industrial production would point to gross domestic product growth of about 7 per cent, based on China's changing economic structure as services expanded rapidly to account for a greater share of GDP than before.
Traditionally, 7 per cent GDP growth would require 9 per cent industrial production growth, Zhou said.
