China’s economy shows “very good numbers”

According to the recent stats the slowdown in China’s economy was less sharp than predicted and Beijing reports that corralling inflation remained its top priority even though a "complex and volatile" global economy clouded the outlook.

Wednesday China reported that second-quarter gross domestic product increased by 9.5% rate from the same period a year ago, outdoing the forecast 9.4% growth. However, it is still considered a slow pace since the Q3 of 2009.

As China has raised its interest rates and tightened bank lending terms in a move to ease inflation, some cooling of the economy is expected and welcome.

"These are very good numbers," said Liu Li-Gang, an economist with ANZ in Hong Kong. "This is perhaps the reason the (central bank) raised interest rates last week. They are showing they are not afraid of a significant slowdown in the economy."

Sheng Laiyun, a spokesperson for China's statistics bureau, said stabilizing inflation was the primary goal, and policies would be "targeted, flexible and effective."

"It's not easy and China has done a great job to maintain fast economic growth when the global situation is complex and volatile," Sheng said.