From Beijing Review:
How to convert the consumption potential into actual consumption is an urgent challenge for the Chinese Government
According to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS), in the first half of 2006, fixed-asset investment stood at 4.24 trillion yuan, surging 29.8 percent year on year, 4.4 percentage points higher than the rate in the same period last year. During this period, the total volume of exports and imports reached $795.74 billion, up 23.4 percent over a year ago, 0.2 percentage points higher than the growth rate in the same period last year. At the same time, retail sales of consumer goods totaled 3.64 trillion yuan, up 13.3 percent year on year, or a real growth of 12.4 percent when allowing for price rises, 0.4 percentage points higher than the growth rate a year ago.
However, Song Guoqing, Professor at the China Center for Economic Research of Peking University, said that the Chinese consumption capability is not fully reflected in the data…. [Full Text]
See CDT’s covereage on consumption
