Growth level to be maintained

1 March 2002

China's economy will grow by at least 7 per cent in 2002, according to a forecast by Qiu Xiaohua, deputy director general of the National Bureau of Statistics reported by Beijing Morning Post. Agriculture is forecast to grow by 3 per cent over the year, industry and construction by 8-9 per cent, and service industries by at least 7 per cent.

The State Economic and Trade Commission forecast that China's industrial output would rise about 9 per cent year-on-year in 2002, compared with 9.9 per cent in 2001.