GDP growth target set at 7 per cent

The target economic growth rate for 2002 is 7%, Zeng Peiyan minister of the State Development Planning Commission told the National People's Congress in March. China recorded a 7.3% increase in gross domestic product in 2001, according to the final official figure released in February. This was down from 8% in 2000. The rate for the fourth quarter of the year was 6.6%, the lowest for two years.