China's finance minister said economic growth of 9 percent this year would be acceptable, state television reported Wednesday, in the first acknowledgment by a senior official that the country might exceed its target of 7 percent. China has been trying since last year to slow down its roaring economy, worried that rapid growth could ignite politically explosive inflation and threaten the banking industry. Finance Minister Jin Renqing said that while government controls have achieved anticipated results, 9 percent growth is acceptable, according to China Central Television. It quoted Jin as saying the controls are aimed at diminishing "uncoordinated, unstable" factors in the national economy, not at damping overall growth. The economy grew by 9.4 percent in the second quarter of this year, according to the government. Chinese leaders set the 7 percent target in a report issued in March by Premier Wen Jiabao. The government has been tightening controls on lending and trying to discourage new investment in steel mills, real estate and several other industries. The measures were imposed after economic growth hit an annual rate of 9.1 percent in 2003.
