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China economic growth needs to be more balanced: expert

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-11 01:23

DALIAN: Although China's economy has managed to expand relatively fast, it still faces the challenge of making it develop in a more balanced, coordinated and sustainable way, Stephen Roach, Morgan Stanley's Asian Chairman, said here Thursday.

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The stimulus package of the Chinese government has helped bolster the economic growth, but it was mainly driven by fixed assets investment, Roach said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua during the Summer Davos held in north China's coastal city Dalian.

Official figures showed that investment contributed 6.2 percentage points to China's 7.1 percent year-on-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first half, and consumption did 3.8 percentage points. Exports, sliding for eight straight months, dragged down growth by 2.9 percentage points.

China should also pay attention to the rise of potential non-performing loans (NPLs), because of the massive lending of Chinese banks this year, he added.

Chinese banks advanced a record 7.73 trillion yuan (US$1.13 trillion) of new loans in the first seven months, far exceeding the full year target of 5 trillion yuan, after the government eased lending restrictions to stem a slowdown in the world's third largest economy.

The three-day summit, also known as the Annual Meeting of New Champions 2009, attracted about 1,400 business leaders and policy makers from 86 countries and regions.