China GDP up 11.5 percent in first half

Beijing -- China said Thursday its gross domestic product grew 11.5 percent in the first half of 2007 to $1.39 trillion, while first-half inflation rose 3.2 percent.

The first-half GDP growth was boosted by second-quarter growth of 11.9 percent, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported, quoting the National Bureau of Statistics. In the first quarter, GDP was up 11.1 percent, higher than what the central bank reportedly had forecast.

The NBS said the first-half GDP growth, once again fueled by the country's burgeoning exports, was one-half percentage point higher than the same period of last year.

Bureau spokesman Li Xiaochao, however, said domestic consumption is now playing a bigger role in China's growth than reliance eon investment.
The higher inflation rate was largely blamed on June numbers in which the consumer price index rose 4.4 percent from the same month of the previous year.

The NBS said China's first-half fixed assets investments stood at $716.5 billion.

China's GDP growth in the second half is expected to experience a moderate slowdown. The country's central bank already has raised interest rates twice because of concerns about the economy overheating.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.