China's estimated gross domestic product (GDP) grew 8.7 per cent last year as the country's economy showed signs of recovery from the global slowdown, dpa quoted the government as saying today. GDP in 2009 reached 33.54 trillion yuan (4.91 trillion dollars) after growth rose to 10.7 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter, Ma Jiantang, director of the National Bureau of Statistics, told reporters. "Last year was the most difficult one for China's economy in the new century," state media quoted Ma as saying. Ma said China's economy "began to recover as a whole" mainly because of government financial policies and a 4-trillion-yuan infrastructure-centered spending package. The bureau said the added value of China's industrial sector soared by 9.5 per cent last year to an estimated 15.7 trillion yuan while the service sector was worth an estimated 14.29 trillion yuan, up 8.9 per cent from 2008. Last month, the government raised its estimated GDP growth for 2008 to 9.6 per cent after re-evaluating the service sector. China's export value fell by 16 per cent in 2009 but monthly exports rose by 18 per cent in December in another possible sign of an economic recovery, the government said earlier. Total foreign trade value dropped by 14 per cent to 2.21 trillion dollars last year while its China's trade surplus, a bone of contention with other countries, fell 34 per cent to 196.1 billion dollars, the General Administration of Customs said.
