PILING UP: China's exports are slowing down because of shrinking external demand

China has weathered the international financial crisis and achieved stable and fast economic growth so far this year, although the GDP growth rate has dropped for three quarters in a row, which was 10.6 percent, 10.1 percent, and 9 percent, respectively, in the first, second and third quarters. GDP growth was 11.4 percent for the whole of 2007.

"The Chinese economy is going through a correction period after years of development craze," said Zhang Liqun, a macro-economy researcher at the Development Research Center of the State Council, in an interview with Xinhua News Agency.

Zhang cited two reasons: The government's previous efforts to "cool down the overheating economy" have taken effect, and the worsening external environment has added pressure to domestic economic growth.

In the first nine months, the country's GDP grew 9.9 percent, according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The figure came as a surprise for many citizens, because China has been used to double-digit economic growth for decades.

The 9.9-percent GDP growth is hard-won, said NBS spokesman Li Xiaochao at a press conference on October 20, considering that China has been hit by a series of natural disasters this year. They included the unexpected heavy snowstorms in the southern part of the country in January and February, the massive Wenchuan earthquake in May, and disastrous floods in May and June.

The country's runaway inflation was gradually brought under control. The consumer price index (CPI) grew 7 percent in the first three quarters year on year, and its growth rate has been falling for five consecutive months. In September, the CPI rose 4.6 percent year on year, down 0.3 percentage points from the previous month.

Serious but not devastating

"The dramatic change in the international economic environment poses an obvious negative impact on our national economy," Li said at the press conference.