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Chinese economy sees record growth amid fears of global recession

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The Chinese economy grew by 11.2% in the fourth quarter of 2007 as annual growth hit a 13-year peak, the country's government said on Thursday.
MOSCOW, January 24 (RIA Novosti) - The Chinese economy grew by 11.2% in the fourth quarter of 2007 as annual growth hit a 13-year peak, the country's government said on Thursday.

Amid fears of an approaching global recession, China remained vibrant and analysts speculated that the world's most heavily populated nation may be able to at least partially offset any global effects of a slump in the U.S. economy.

The third quarter showed an even higher growth rate, at 11.5%. For 2007 as a whole, China's economy grew by 11.4%, its biggest increase since 1994.

Although the success story has led to what the National Bureau of Statistics of China website called the "improved livelihood of the people," Chinese officials remained cautious.

"The risk of the economy shifting from rapid growth to overheating still exists," the director of the National Statistics Bureau, Xie Fuzhan, told journalists after the figures were released.

Inflation lessened somewhat in December to 6.5% but remained at record-high levels, mainly due to ever-increasing food prices, the National Bureau of Statistics also reported.

China is now the world's fourth largest economy after the U.S., Japan and Germany. Its total 2007 output was 24.7 trillion yuan ($3.4 trillion), said Xie.

Xie, however, did not seem to consider China's current 'world rating' particularly significant.

"It's not really important to know whether China is the fourth-largest or the third-largest. Even if the total surpasses Germany, China is still a developing country. In particular, the per-capita GDP of China is really low," he said.

Xie also said Beijing was monitoring the U.S. credit crisis. He refused to speculate on what impact any U.S. economic slump might have on the Chinese economy, however, saying only that China would make "timely and proper adjustments" in exchange and interest rate policy, without giving further details.

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