China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released economic statistics for the year 2007 today, with the country's gross domestic product (GDP) growing by 11.4 percent, the highest rate of growth in 13 years for the country's economy.

Currently the world's fourth-largest economy after the United States, Japan and Germany, China recorded a GDP of more than 24.6 trillion yuan (US$3.4 trillion) last year, according to initial NBS calculations.

In other statistics of note, fixed asset investment – fuelled by a nationwide real estate boom – was up 24.8 percent, totaling 13.7 trillion yuan. Consumption continued to climb, with national retail sales for the year reaching 8.9 trillion yuan, up 16.8 percent over 2006.
　　
China's total trade with the rest of the world increased 23.5 percent last year, swelling to more than US$2.17 trillion. Exports from China totaled US$1.21 trillion, a jump of 25.7 percent year-on-year, while the value of imports for the year exceeded US$955 billion, up 20.8 percent.

Last year the rise of the Chinese consumer continued, with per capita disposable income up 17.2 percent, reaching 13,786 yuan (US$1,907). As disposable income grew, however, so did the price of goods in the marketplace. According to NBS statistics, China's consumer price index (CPI) – a measure of the price of a basket of everyday consumer goods – increased by 4.8 percent.

Yunnan province saw the price of goods go up faster than the rest of the country, with the provincial CPI increasing 5.9 percent over 2006.

NBS chief Xie Fuzhan (谢伏瞻) characterized China's continued rapid economic growth as "stable", but also warned of the potential for overheating. Xie also expressed concern over prices being increasingly pushed upward and "structural contradictions" in the country's economy.

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Tags: business, Chinese economy, CPI, disposable income, foreign trade