China statistics chief upbeat about future economy

BEIJING - Wang Baoan, director of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), said he has confidence in the Chinese economy, following a better-than-expected GDP growth in the second quarter.

Wang made the remarks in an interview with People's Daily, which will run the full text on Friday.

NBS data showed on Wednesday that China's second-quarter GDP expanded 7 percent year on year, unchanged from the first quarter, beating a median market forecast of 6.9 percent.

"The economy has shown signs of stabilization and recovery," said Wang, citing rosy figures about GDP, employment, inflation, agricultural production and income.

In his view, the country's economic structure and the quality of growth are both improving. The drive of mass entrepreneurship and innovation and repeated cuts to red tape are unleashing creativity and market vitality.

The NBS chief attributed the better-than-expected result to the unremitting efforts made by China's central authorities to strengthen and improve macro economic management.

Government policies to stabilize growth, boost reforms and restructuring, improve livelihoods and prevent risks have played significant roles for the economy, according to Wang.

"We believe the upward trend will continue into the second half of 2015 and we have confidence that China can deliver the economic and social development targets set for the whole year," said Wang.

China has a huge market with great potential and high resilience. Industrialization and urbanization will generate large room for future growth, Wang told the newspaper.

Pro-growth measures, including fiscal and monetary policies, will further take effect in the latter half of the year.

Regional integration campaigns, including the Belt and Road Initiative, the coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, the Yangtze River Economic Belt, will also serve as new growth engines.

However, Wang also noted that a slow recovery of the global economy and domestic problems from the economic restructuring will add uncertainties to the Chinese economy.

"Stabilizing overall demand is key to stabilizing growth. To that end, it is pivotal for China to increase investment," said Wang.

"But in the long run, we must rely on technological innovation," he said, adding that the government will focus its efforts on four things: lifting price controls, clearing market entry obstacles, liberalizing scientific research, and invigorating State-owned firms.