BEIJING, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- A senior cabinet member supervising the national economy said here on Wednesday that China's economy grew 9.9 percent in the first three quarters of this year.

Zhang Ping, minister in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), reported the implementation of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010) on national economic and social development to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC).

Growth in the past two years averaged 11.8 percent, which was above plan forecasts. Since 2006, the country has created 30.28 million jobs, or 67 percent of the plan target, Zhang said.

Consumer prices in the past two years increased by 3.1 percent annually, which was deemed as a stable level, he said.

Service-sector employment grew by 1 percentage point in the past two years, which was a little slower than the government plan, Zhang said.

The ratio of research and development spending to gross domestic product (GDP) in the past two years increased by 0.15 percentage point, lower than the goal of about 0.13 percentage point each year.

As of the end of 2007, Zhang said, the population had grown by 0.52 percent annually to more than 1.32 billion.

Through last June, the basic urban pension system covered 210 million residents, 73 percent of the plan, Zhang said.

Summarizing the economic situation in the past two years, Zhang said agriculture was strengthened, the industrial structure was upgraded, regional development was coordinated, energy efficiency and emission reduction made progress, innovation was encouraged, restructuring and deregulation deepened and social benefits were emphasized.

"We are confronted with great challenges resulting from a dramatic change in the world economic and financial situation," Zhang said.

The international economic turmoil is expected to last for a long time, resulting in an inevitable slump in the world economy, Zhang said. Since China's trade accounts for two-thirds of its GDP, the global slump will definitely hit the country, he said.

"If we are unable to properly deal with the difficulties, we might be faced with grave risks in failing to realize our strategic goals in economic and social development," he said.

The government will stick to a "flexible and prudent" macroeconomic policy and "active" fiscal and "moderately loose" monetary policies with combined measures of tax cuts and expanded central government investment, said Zhang.

He added that efforts should also be made to boost the capacity for innovation and coordinated development, and to enhance reforms on resource prices and the tax system.

"Sustainable development should be emphasized by promoting energy conservation and emission reduction," Zhang said.

"Employment should be a priority in the government agenda over the next two years," especially that of migrant workers, some of whom lost jobs due to the economic slowdown," he added.
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