Shanghai, January 26:

China’s efforts to implement a wide range of tough economic reforms have been made easier following today’s figures showing another year of near-10 per cent growth in 2005, analysts said.

China’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose to $2.25 trillion and, although the rate of growth was down marginally from 10.1 per cent in 2004, it equalled the average rate of 9.9 per cent recorded between 1993 and 2004. The figures boded well as Beijing attempts to press ahead with plans to rebalance an economy that has see 25 years of near miraculous growth but created a massive wealth gap.

“Strong growth in 2005 is good news because it gives the government more room to restructure its growth model,” said Shen Minggao, a China economist at Citigroup in Beijing. China’s ruling Party has outlined an economic blueprint to bring ab-out more balanced and efficient growth am-id efforts to raise rural incomes, boost empl-oyment and create more eff-ective social security.

“It is the best possible situation for the authorities to be in,” said Tim Condon, an economist for ING Barings, “They’ve got a huge menu of reforms to implement, so it’s nice to have a calm macro-background in which to undertake those and that is what they’ve got.” After years of relying almost exclusively on massive infrastructure investment and exports to drive the economy, government figures released today showed consumption made up one-third of the economy.”

National Statistics Bureau commissioner Li Deshui characterised the country’s economic health as ‘fairly good’ while ‘progress was seen in more balanced development.’

Oil imports dip

BEIJING: China said its net imports of crude and refined oil fell last year, and suggested it was not a major factor behind high global oil prices. The nation’s net imports of crude and refined oil dropped by 5.3 per cent year-on-year in 2005, according to Li Deshui, the director of the NBS. “So-me people say that China imports too much oil, and that demand is voracious, causing the global rise in oil prices. But I’d like to tell you that in 20-05, China’s net imports of crude and refined oil not only did not rise, but actually fell. — AFP