Chinese Premier: China Grew 7% Last Year

China, the world’s biggest concern is set to announce 7% GDP growth. On an absolute basis they grew more than the year before, and are still the world’s fastest growing major economy. Nonetheless, 7% growth will likely be spun as a negative…

WSJ: 

“Our GDP of year grew by around 7% or, in other words, nearly 7%,” Mr. Li told a gathering of foreign and Chinese delegates to the AIIB at a state guesthouse in Beijing. Mr. Li said given its large size, in absolute terms the Chinese economy grew by more in 2015 than the year before, and it is still one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies.

The economy is around $10 trillion, and China’s annual growth rate in 2014 was 7.3%. Mr. Li said China achieved “rather sufficient” employment in 2015, expanding by a wider margin than expected. China exceeded its target of creating 10 million urban jobs.

China’s economy has appeared to many economists and analysts to be decelerating faster than the government has acknowledged, weighed down by debt, excess industrial capacity and an overbuilt housing market. As official statistics have stayed buoyant, doubts have been raised about their reliability.

Recurring plummets in China’s stock markets and botched attempts to bolster them have further compounded questions about the government’s ability to manage the economy. Premier Li said China faced a difficult economic environment at home and abroad. “However, China is resilient,” he said. Its 900 million workforce, including some 150 million skilled professionals, will continue to help shift the economy, from “one built on natural resources to one built on human resources” in pursuit of a medium-high rate of growth, he added.

Progress is already being made in restructuring, he said, with services now accounting for half the economy and consumption contributing nearly 60% of economic growth. The economy has traditionally depended on investment and exports.