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China suggests it may brake economic growth

China's economic planners have suggested they are getting ready to step on the brakes with a 7 percent growth target for next year, state media said yesterday.

The growth objective was made public at a high-level meeting beginning Monday which set out the strategic goals for economic policies next year, the People's Daily and other newspapers reported.

"The main work objective for the economy is to maintain fast, coordinated and healthy development," Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) was quoted as telling the National Development and Reform Commission during the meeting.

The operative word is "coordinated," a People's Daily editorial writer explained to the readers of the Communist Party mouthpiece, suggesting that China is no longer looking for growth at any cost.

China has routinely set a 7 percent growth target for the past half-decade, arguing it is the minimum needed if enough jobs are to be found for the unemployed and large-scale social unrest is to be avoided.

However, with average growth of 7.7 percent in the past five years and 8.5 percent predicted for this year, there is little doubt the target could have been set higher, ranking officials said.

"Economic development is not everything for the government," said Ma Kai, the head of the National Development and Reform Commission.

"We should pour more energy into other indicators such as education, health, environment and social welfare," he said.

This could be a response to growing worries about trends in this particular category of economic activity.

Analysts have warned blind investment could lead to over-capacity.
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