(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) China's economy grew 7.0 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, unchanged from the previous three months, official data showed Wednesday. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth of the world's No. 2 economy in the April-June period was in line with the government-set 2015 growth target of around 7.0 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics said on its Website.
"The better-than-expected growth has come after the government's bold moves in macro-control and adherence to structural reforms as the economy plateaus," bureau spokesman Sheng Laiyun told a press conference in Beijing, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency.
"Policies rolled out by central authorities to stabilize growth, boost reforms and restructuring, improve livelihoods and prevent risks have played significant roles for the economy," Sheng said.
These measures included three cuts in both benchmark interest rates and banks' reserve requirement ratio in the first half, and the government's accelerated fiscal spending on infrastructure to shore up investment. With these efforts, the national economy has stayed "in the proper range" in the first half as major economic indicators gradually recovered, indicating stabilization and improvement," Sheng said, citing steady employment and price levels. More than 7 million new jobs were created in urban areas in the first half, with a target of 10 million for the year, while inflation rose only 1.3 percent during the period. In the first half of the year, GDP was also grew 7.0 percent on the year.
"We think economic growth in the latter half of the year will most likely outperform that in the first half," the spokesperson said, forecasting that government pro-growth policies in the first half will have more of an effect later this year. (end) mk.rk
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