Government efforts to reverse China's economicslump are taking effect and growth is "stabilizing at a slow pace,"the head of the country's planning agency said Wednesday.
The statement by the minister in charge of the National Development and ReformCommission came amid a flurry of mixed signals that show some activity pickingup but export orders and corporate profits weakening.
"The government's policies and measures have been effective and thecountry's economic growth is stabilizing at a slow pace," the officialXinhua News Agency paraphrased Zhang Ping as saying in a meeting withlegislators.
The report gave no other details of Zhang's report or a forecast of wheneconomic growth that fell to a three-year low of 7.6 percent in the secondquarter might rebound.
Beijing cut interest rates twice in June and is trying to pump up the economyby approving a wave of new industrial investments. Authorities have resistedcalls for more aggressive stimulus after huge spending in response to the 2008crisis fueled inflation and a wasteful building boom.
Premier Wen Jiabao has expressed confidence China can meet its economic targetsbut warned last month the job situation will become "more complex andsevere." The Communist Party's official growth target this year is 7.5percent.
Forecasters expect growth to rebound late this year or in early 2013 but say arecovery will be too weak to drive global growth without improvement in theUnited States and Europe.
Unusually weak data from July and August have fed worries China's rebound mightbe delayed still further.
Profits at industrial companies in auto manufacturing, steel production andother fields declined in July for a fourth month, data showed this week. Thatmight hurt investment, a pillar of Beijing's recovery plan.
July export growth fell to 1 percent, well below forecasts, adding to pain formanufacturers that have been battered by weak global demand. Thousands of smallcompanies have been driven out of business, raising the threat of job lossesand unrest as the Communist Party prepares to hand over power to youngerleaders.
Wen, the premier, called last weekend for efforts to stabilize trade growth. Hesaid the current quarter is a "critical period" for China to meet itsannual trade targets.
Zhang, the planning official, also said government curbs on the housing markethave "effectively suppressed" speculative activity blamed for soaringprices, according to Xinhua. It noted that prices for new residential buildingsdeclined in July in 58 out of 70 major Chinese cities.