MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

China's economic growth “softens” to 10.4%

China's GDP expanded slightly slower in the third quarter, 10.4% as a direct consequence of measures to contain the overheating of the economy, reported the Chinese Statistics Office in Beijing.

"The tendency of the economy to grow at an extremely rapid rate have been controlled", said Li Xiaochao, from the Statistics Office.

In the second quarter the Chinese economy expanded at an annualized 11.3%, and in the first nine months 10.7% over 2005. China's GDP has been estimated in 1.79 trillion US dollars.

Foreign trade during the same period soared 25%, totaling 1.27 trillion, with a surplus in the range of 109 billion US dollars. Exports in the first nine months of 2006 totaled 691 billion US dollars, up 26.5% and imports increased 21.7% reaching 581 billion US dollars.

According to Beijing statistics, internationally accepted, the country's GDP in 2005 expanded 9.9% reaching 8.23 trillion US dollars making the Chinese economy the world's fourth largest.

Between 2000 and 2005, the Chinese economy has grown at an annual rate of 9%, but Beijing authorities have been successful, so far, in addressing several chronic problems such as an excess of investments, growing income inequality, corruption and environmental damage.

Chinese Trade Ministry reported that Chinese companies investments overseas soared 65.3% in the first half of this year, over 2005, totaling 6.44 billion US dollars.

Direct investment was estimated in three billion US dollars while 1.6 billion was profits re-invested by those companies overseas.

With the strong support of Beijing, Chinese overseas investments have been expanding at a significant rate. Beijing's target is ensuring the supply of commodities, building Chinese companies international prestige and larger shares of markets.

Overseas investment doubled in 2005 to 12.3 billion US dollars, the first two digit year. However they are considerably smaller compared to direct foreign investment in China which last year reached 60.3 billion US dollars.