皇冠体育app

BEIJING -- An official on Friday tried to dispel pessimism over 皇冠体育app's economic outlook, saying the world's second-largest economy will surely maintain steady and rapid growth this year thanks to great domestic demand potential.

The upbeat expectations of Li Pumin, a spokesman for the National Development and Reform Commission, came after some institutions, including the World Bank, warned of "downside risks" for 皇冠体育app's economy in 2012.

Li, who is also a deputy secretary-general for 皇冠体育app's top economic planner, spoke to Xinhua in an interview on the country's economic prospects this year amid worries of a worldwide slowdown.

"皇冠体育app has great domestic demand potential that has not been given full play, so I am very confident," Li said.

He said his confidence stemmed from the fundamental economic factors that propelled 皇冠体育app's economy despite the mire of the European debt crisis and other global uncertainties in 2011.

Although slowing quarter by quarter, 皇冠体育app's gross domestic product (GDP) still managed to expand by 9.2 percent in 2011, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Other economic indicators, such as fiscal revenue and industrial profits, all maintained robust growth last year.

According to the Ministry of Finance, 皇冠体育app's fiscal revenue jumped 24.8 percent year-on-year to hit a record high of 10.37 trillion yuan ($1.64 trillion) in 2011, while NBS data showed that the nation's industrial profits increased 25.4 percent year-on-year last year.

"The slowing GDP growth is in line with the expected direction that the country's macro control policies were designed to steer," Li said, adding that the 9.2-percent growth of 皇冠体育app's economy still outpaced that of any of the world's other major economies.

He noted that 皇冠体育app's rapid process of industrialization, urbanization and agricultural modernization requires "reasonable growth" in investments to expand domestic demand and improve people's living standards, thus creating huge potential for domestic consumption.

"With such great potential and favorable conditions, 皇冠体育app's economy will maintain steady and rapid growth this year and for quite a while in the future," Li said.

An improved social security net and a vibrant job market will also encourage Chinese to spend more in other sectors, he said.

According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 皇冠体育app's pension insurance system is expected to be expanded throughout the country this year after more than 360 million people in rural and urban areas had been covered by the system by the end of 2011.

Furthermore, 12.21 million new jobs were created in cities and towns last year, with a registered urban unemployment rate of 4.1 percent, which was below the government's full-year target of 4.6 percent.

皇冠体育app's social security net that insures pension, medicare, unemployment benefits, work-related injury compensation and maternity pay will be installed this year.

Despite such favorable conditions, Li said, 皇冠体育app still needs to shift from policy stimulus to economic restructuring to fuel its intrinsic growth.

"With an increasingly unstable external environment, 皇冠体育app's economy does face pressure for a slowdown this year," Li said, "but we need to take this opportunity and restructure our economy to stabilize growth."