China's Q1 GDP growth hits 3-year low

 　　BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- China's economy expanded 8.1 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2012, slowing from 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Friday.

　　The figure, which marked the fifth consecutive¹ quarter of decline, revealed the slowest growth pace since the third quarter of 2009 and failed to match market expectations of 8.3 to 8.5 percent.

　　Despite a lackluster GDP figure, other economic data released Friday showed signs of stabilized² growth, and the slowdown may prompt more government fine-tuning polices to cushion the economy, analysts³ said.

　　On a quarterly basis, the country's economy grew 1.8 percent in the first three months of this year, NBS spokesman Sheng Laiyun said at a press briefing on March's economic figures.

　　According to preliminary statistics, the country's GDP reached 10.7995 trillion yuan (1.72 trillion U.S. dollars) during the period.

　　SIGNS OF STABILIZED GROWTH

　　Views were divided on whether the GDP figure has bottomed out the economy's growth, but analysts said the growth rate remains⁴ healthy and the economy is heading toward stabilized growth.

　　Sheng said the first quarter growth rate was not low compared with other economies and it showed gains against the backdrop of faltering⁵ global economic recovery and new conditions emerging domestically, including operations difficulties among small and medium-sized enterprises.

　　Challenged by a sluggish⁶ external market, China lowered its full-year growth target for 2012 to 7.5 percent in early March, after its economy grew 9.2 percent year-on-year last year.

　　"Speaking of absolute GDP increase, the first quarter growth is still remarkable," said Yin Jianfeng, a researcher at the Institute of Finance and Banking⁷ under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

　　Although the GDP figure has further slowed from last year, other figures for March indicate that the economy's growth momentum⁸ started picking up, said Liu Ligang, director of the economic research department of ANZ Greater China.

　　Sheng shared this view, citing positive month-on-month growth in the country's major economic indicators⁹.

　　In March, industrial value-added output grew 11.9 percent year-on-year, higher than the 11.4 percent recorded in the first two months. Retail¹⁰ sales grew 15.2 percent, an increase of 14.7 percent from the January to February period, Sheng said.

　　Fixed¹¹ asset investment rose 20.9 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, dropping 0.6 percentage point from the January to February period. But its real growth after deducting¹² price factors still exceeded that registered during the January to February period, he noted¹³.

　　"We believe the economy will continue to maintain moderately steady growth in the future, because the country's economic fundamentals have not changed," the spokesman said.

　　Sheng explained that the country is still undergoing a rapid process of industrialization, urbanization, marketization and internationalization, which will unleash¹⁴ huge investment and consumption potential.

1 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

2 stabilized   

v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The patient's condition stabilized. 患者的病情稳定下来。
• His blood pressure has stabilized. 他的血压已经稳定下来了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 faltering   

犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• I canfeel my legs faltering. 我感到我的腿在颤抖。

6 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

7 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

8 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

9 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

10 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

11 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

12 deducting   

v.扣除，减去( deduct的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Deducting drop size and velocity from circular blood stains. 如何从循环的血液中降低血滴的大小和速度。 来自电影对白
• Ordinary shareholders receive dividend from profit after deducting the preference shares dividend. 普通股股东可获派剩馀的盈利为股息。 来自互联网

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 unleash   

vt.发泄，发出；解带子放开

参考例句：

• They hope to create allies to unleash against diseases,pests,and invasive species.他们希望创造出一些新群体来对付疾病、害虫和一些有侵害性的物种。
• Changing water levels now at times unleash a miasma of disease from exposed sewage.如今，大坝不时地改变水位，从暴露的污水释放出了疾病瘴气。