Chinese economy steadies with faster structural transformation

BEIJING - The Chinese economy remained resilient last month as advanced indicators were solid and the pace of structural transformation picked up.

Daily power generation across the country increased nearly 12 percent in May, up by 3.34 percentage points from a month ago, according to the website Economic Information Daily. Power use last month increased around 10 percent year on year.

During the first five months, total power generation went up more than 10 percent from the same period in 2017.

The rising output of power plants came as the latest signal of a steady economy. China's goods trade saw stable expansion of 8.8 percent in the January-May period, and the index on the manufacturing sector in May climbed to its highest level in eight months.

The market sentiment maintained bullish on the economic outlook.

The World Bank was still optimistic about China's economy, leaving its estimate for the country's GDP growth unchanged at 6.5 percent for 2018. "Economic activity in China remains resilient, with GDP growing by 6.9 percent in 2017 and 6.8 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2018. Consumption continues to drive growth."

Apart from the robust economic indicators, analysts believe structural reforms were also pushed forward in a faster pace.

Rating agency Moody's said in a report that resource allocation in the economy is shifting in favor of industries with high added value, such as automaking and electronics production.

"Continued reforms will support further transition in economic structure, with more energy pumped into innovation," the report said.

The Chinese government is striving to downsize saturated traditional heavy industries, including steel and coal, while fostering high-tech sectors such as equipment manufacturing and information.