Chinese statistics chief hopes for 10% economic growth, 3% inflation in 2010(68661)

TIANJIN, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- It would be a "good result" for China's economy if the country could achieve a growth rate of around 10 percent and around 3 percent rise in consumer prices this year, Chinese statistics chief said here Wednesday.

Ma Jiantang, director of the National Bureau of Statistics, made such remarks at the ongoing World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions in north China's port city of Tianjin.

The growth in China's gross domestic product (GDP) slowed to 10.3 percent in the second quarter from 11.9 percent in the first quarter, triggering concerns about China's economic slowdown.

"The 11.9-percent increase in China's first-quarter GDP was largely due to lower comparison base last year when the nation was hit hardest by the financial crisis," Ma said.

The slowdown in the second-quarter economic growth was also partly because of measures China took to cool the runaway property market and reduce emissions, Ma said.

Ma's views was echoed by Xia Bin, a member of the monetary policy committee of the People's Bank of China, the central bank.

"The slowdown in the second quarter was a result of our macroeconomic control," Xia said.

He said rules regulating local government financing vehicles to clear up their debt also caused a cut in the growth rate.

Ma Jiantang said he is not worried about the speed of China's economic growth. What worries him are how to accelerate the transformation of the nation's economic development pattern, how to enhance the rates of resources utilization efficiency and how to protect the environment.

He said the country should put more efforts to the economic restructuring and the transformation of the nation's economic growth model.

Ma also said the ministry will create a scientific system of statistical indicators to guide governments at all levels, industries and companies to transform development pattern.

Statistical data should "truly and accurately" reflect the process of the transformation, he said.

He also said it was "very hard" for official data to reflect individual feelings on prices and each person's income.