Skip to main content

China GDP grows by 8.7 percent in 2009

China's economy grew by 10.7 percent in the last quarter alone.
China's economy grew by 10.7 percent in the last quarter alone.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • China's economy grew by 8.7 percent in 2009, according to the National Bureau of Statistics
  • China's fourth quarter growth alone surged to 10.7 percent on an annualized basis
  • But concerns are rising of a growing property bubble in China

Beijing, China (CNN) -- China's economy grew by 8.7 percent in 2009, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

China's fourth quarter growth alone surged to 10.7 percent on an annualized basis.

China's economy has been picking up pace the first three quarters of the year, growing at 6.2 percent the first quarter and 7.9 percent the second quarter and 9.1 percent in the third quarter.

The gross domestic product total was $4.9 trillion in 2009. The annual growth was spurred by a $586 billion stimulus package to bolster its economy.

The government had set a growth target rate of 8 percent last year, which the government sees as a benchmark to maintain employment rates in the nation of 1.3 billion.

"In the face of severe impact brought about by the global financial crisis in a century and the most complicated domestic and international situations, the (government) sized up the situation, made scientific decisions, and headed the whole nation united as one to surmount the difficulties of our time," said Ma Jiantang, director of the National Bureau of Statistics. "It stopped the remarkable decline ... and China became the first to emerge (from the recession)."

Retail sales rose 16.9 percent in 2009, as China encourage domestic spending to make up for lost export business during the recession.

But concerns are rising of a growing property bubble in China, fueled by lending which has seen property prices grow 50 percent or more in some cities.

On Wednesday China signaled to several banks to curb lending, causing stock markets to slump globally as questions about China's lending practices slammed the price of commodities.

The sector was also hit by reports that China intends to slow the pace of lending this year in an attempt to get ahead of inflation. A stronger dollar also pressured dollar-traded commodity prices and stocks.

"China's efforts to get their banks to lend less really hit commodities hard, because China is the marginal buyer of commodities," said David Chalupnik, head of equities at First American Funds.

The numbers released Thursday showed, foreign trade dropped 13.9 percent. China still holds a significant trade surplus -- $196 billion -- though the surplus slipped more than 34 percent.

Monthly import-export numbers for December 2009, however, were up.