The economy has made unexpectedly good........>

CHINA: The economy has made unexpectedly good progress at a stable growth pace,

laying a solid foundation for good momentum in future, Sheng Yunlai, the

chief-economist of the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday in a

statement on the NBS website. As supply-side reforms deepen, the development of

new growth drivers is accelerating and the balance between demand and supply is

improving, Sheng said. All the main economic indexes show positive signs. In the

first eight months this year, industrial value-added rose 6.7% year-on-year, 0.7

percentage point higher than the growth rate in same period last year. Railway

freight volume jumped 15.3% year-on-year, compared with a drop of 6.2% in the

first eight months last year, Sheng noted. Industrial profits increased 21.6%

y/y, 13.2 percentage points higher than that in the same period last year. Among

41 main industrial sectors, 39 saw growth in profits, six more than last year,

Sheng added.