China's value-added industrial output expanded 6.9 percent year on year in August, down from 9-percent growth in July, the latest data showed on Saturday.
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On a monthly basis, the industrial output in August expanded by a fractional 0.2 percent from July, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement. In the first eight months, total value-added industrial output grew 8.5 percent from the same period last year.
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August marked the second monthly retreat of the growth rate after industrial output grew 9.2 percent in June, its fastest pace since January.
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China's August export growth came in at 9.4 percent, significantly lower than the 14.5-percent rise in July, pointing to dampened external demand and the complex situation of the world economy, according to Jiang.
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Another drag was cooling investment. Saturday's data showed urban fixed asset investment in January-August grew at a slower pace of 16.5 percent and property investment growth moderated to 13.2 percent. The investment slowdown weighed on related sectors including cement, glass and home appliance production, according to Jiang.
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Premier Li Keqiang downplayed the importance of some economic data from the past two months when delivering his keynote speech to the 2014 Summer Davos on Wednesday in Tianjin.
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"The government will not be distracted by short-term fluctuations of individual indicators." Li said, referring to recent slower growth in power consumption and freight volume.
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China has a GDP growth target of around 7.5 percent and a consumer price index (CPI) increase target of about 3.5 percent for 2014, with 10 million more urban jobs to keep the urban unemployment rate at a maximum of 4.6 percent.
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In the first half of the year, the GDP expanded 7.4 percent with a slightly stronger second quarter, while the rise in CPI stayed at 2.3 percent.
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In the latest move, the NBS on Friday announced a broader accounting regime that aims to shift officials' obsession with GDP and place more weight on environmental and social development.Â