China’s economy grew slower in 2011 but at 9.2% continued to be healthy and above the government target of 8%, official data revealed on Tuesday.
In 2010, the country’s economy had grown at the rate of 10.4% and the latest statistics shows that worldwide economic turbulence had its impact on China as well.
“According to preliminary statistics, the country's GDP reached 47.16 trillion yuan ($7.26 trillion) in 2011,” the China Daily newspaper’s website quoted the National Bureau of Statistics chief, Ma Ma Jiantang as having said.
According to the website, Ma said the country's economic performance in 2011 was "a good start" for the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) period and is in line with macroeconomic regulations.
A report released Tuesday by the Center for Forecasting Science under the Chinese Academy of Sciences also predicted growth of 8.5% for this year.
Another set of data released by the NBS on Tuesday revealed that for the first time, the number of Chinese living in cities had exceeded those living in rural areas. “Urban dwellers now represent 51.27% of China's entire population of nearly 1.35 billion — or 690.8 million people — the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Tuesday.