(1888PressRelease)
November 19, 2008 - London, During the month, sales stood at 1.008 trillion yuan ($148 billion), after a scorching 23.2 percent gain in September.
As exports fall and economic growth slows in the world’s fourth-largest economy, the rise in domestic demand could help cushion the economy from the adverse effects of the global slowdown.
Retail sales in urban areas of the country rose 22.1 percent on an annual basis to $100.04 billion while the sales in rural areas were up 21.9 percent to $ 47.57 billion.
Automobile sales rose 19.6 percent year-on year, boosting the Chinese subsidiaries of Volkswagen AG and General Motors Corp. Other sectors to post a robust growth were clothing and jewelry with an annual increase of 20.3percent and 30 percent respectively indicating that falling property prices and slowing economic growth had not put a dampener on consumer spending habits yet.
However sales of construction materials fell by 14.8 percent year-on year, as falling demand for real estate led to reduced construction and investment in the sector. Retail sales of telecommunication equipment also fell 7 percent when compared to the same month a year ago.
With the slowdown in the global economy impacting China’s growth, the government introduced a fiscal stimulus package of $586 billion last week, to pump up domestic consumption and to increase spends on infrastructure projects.
As the share of exports in economic growth falls, the government policy to tilt growth away from investment and exports while promoting domestic demand seems to have worked.
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