Zeng Peiyan, minister in charge of the State Development Planning Commission (SDPC), said on Sunday at the annual national planning meeting that the country's economy has seen sustained, rapid growth with low inflation.

The country's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to reach 9.645 trillion yuan (US$1.16 trillion) this year.

He attributed the growth to the macro-economic policies adopted by the Chinese Government.

He said that the Chinese Government has focused on increasing domestic demand and firmly pushing ahead with economic restructuring.

The growth was hard to achieve, given the slowdown of the world economy, he said.

The government has expanded its issuance of treasury bonds to channel more money into infrastructure construction, Zeng said.

And because the government supports investment by private and collective enterprises, about 20 billion yuan (US$2.4 billion) from non-State forms was invested in the high-technology sector so far this year, he said.

Consumption demand has also improved markedly. Official figures indicate that retail sales were picking up speed in the first 10 months of the year, surging more than 10 percent over those for the same time last year.

The performance of China's economy also has improved. According to official statistics, industrial enterprises' profits totalled 364.7 billion yuan (US$44 billion) during the first 10 months of the year, an increase of 9.3 percent over the same time last year.

In the same period, fiscal revenues of the central government rose by 256.8 billion yuan (US$31 billion) over last year's.

Zeng predicted that the inflation rate for the year will be about 1 percent while the unemployment rate will be lower than 4 percent.

And the disposable income of urban residents is expected to grow by about 7 percent while the net income of rural residents is expected to grow by 4 percent.

He said that by the end of October, the national reserves of foreign exchange reached US$203 billion.

He said that increasing investment in fixed assets will continue to be key to maintaining China's economic boom next year.

(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2001)