Industrial structure improves, profits increase
Given the positive signs in data released by Chinese authorities on Monday, the country is set to achieve its annual GDP goal, but uncertainties remain, an official said.
Economic growth maintained momentum in October, driven by rising industrial output and higher corporate profits.
China's industrial output increased 6.1 percent year-on-year in October, and enterprises with annual revenues above 20 million yuan ($3 million) have seen their profits steadily grow, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in announcing the figures.
The industrial structure has also improved further. For example, manufacturing output rose 6.7 percent and mining output fell 2.2 percent, both on an annual basis.
However, the advanced and machinery industries both grew by double digits in October, NBS spokesman Mao Shengyong said at a press briefing on Monday.
Other positive signs included steady growth in fixed-assets investment and an unemployment rate below 5 percent in major cities, according to Mao.
However, uncertainties remain because of the complicated domestic and international macroeconomic situations, and the basis for a full economic recovery has not yet solidified, Mao told the briefing.
The relationship between supply and demand was further balanced in October, reflected by steady growth in inflation benchmarks.
In October, the Consumer Price Index rose 2.1 percent and the Producer Price Index (PPI) increased 1.2 percent, despite the recent jump in the prices of some raw materials like steel and coal.
The PPI increase was driven primarily by the drop in supply due to a reduction in overcapacity, Mao noted. Steady PPI growth will help further increase corporate profits.
Fixed-assets investment from January to October rose 8.3 percent year-on-year to 48 trillion yuan, up 0.1 percentage point from the growth rate in January to September, the NBS data showed.
Total investment in housing projects nationwide in the first 10 months grew 6.6 percent to 8.4 trillion yuan.
However, the amount of housing ready for sale was 695.2 million square meters at the end of October, dropping by 900,000 square meters from the end of September, marking the eighth monthly decline, according to NBS.
Considering the solid economic performance of the previous three quarters, China is expected to reach its annual GDP growth target of more than 6.5 percent for this year, Mao said.
