VOA慢速英语2015 中国经济增长速度降至六年来最低点

AS IT IS 2015-10-20 China Economy Shows Lowest Growth Since 2009 中国经济增长速度降至六年来最低点

China -- the world’s second-largest economy -- is growing at the slowest rate in 25 years. 

The Chinese government reported its economy grew by just 6.9 percent from a year ago. China’s economy slowed from July to September 2015. And this was down from the 7 percent reported for April, May and June.

China’s economy has been hurt by weak world demand for Chinese exports, a recent stock market collapse¹ and China’s surprise devaluation of its currency, the yuan.  

Weak world demand makes it unlikely the government can meet its trade growth target of 6 percent for this year. Experts are predicting a slower decline in the Chinese economy into 2016.

A government spokesman told reporters in Beijing that the economy is facing some “downward pressures.” It is moving from an export-driven to a consumer-demand economy.

China’s central bank has cut interest rates five times since November to strengthen the economy. It is battling China’s worst economic slowdown in more than six years.

The government also has tried to reduce Chinese dependence² on trade and investment. It wants Chinese consumers to spend more.  Manufacturing companies are shrinking and getting rid of millions of jobs. Businesses targeting consumers are expanding.

Online businesses, restaurants and other services for Chinese consumers make up 41.7 percent of the country’s employment. Manufacturing makes up 34.7 percent, the government said.

Chinese leaders set an official growth target of “about 7 percent” for this year. But they do not want investors³ and the public to center too much on that goal. 

The top economic official, Premier⁴ Li Keqiang, said in September he would accept growth below that level as long as the economy keeps creating new jobs.  

A spokesperson with the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics said that although there is a slowdown in the industrial sector⁵, China’s services sector is growing fast. Chinese leaders have been trying to reassure⁶ world markets for months that the economy is under control. 

A surprise devaluation of the yuan and a sharp summer stock market drop in China raised fears among world markets. 

Some experts say China overstates growth and the real rate may be as low as 5 percent.

Julian Evans-Pritchard is an analyst⁷ at Capital Economics in Singapore. He said in a report that today’s official Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers overstate the pace of growth in China by a “significant margin⁸.”

Still, Mr. Evans-Pritchard wrote, “underlying conditions are subdued⁹ but stable” in the Chinese economy.

Zhou Hao is an economist¹⁰ at Commerzbank in Singapore. He told Reuters that the “overall downward pressure on the Chinese economy is still huge.” He expects the Chinese government will lower its yearly growth target in its next five-year plan at the end of this month.

Some top Chinese leaders have expressed concerns about the economy. President Xi Jinping told Reuters that the government is working to address those concerns.

Words in This Story

decline – n. the process of becoming worse in condition or quality

consumer – n. a person who buys goods and services

currency –   n. the money that a country uses: a specific kind of money

slowdown – n. a decrease in speed at which something is moving or happening

sector – n. an area of an economy : a part of an economy that includes certain kinds of jobs

reassure – v. to make (someone) feel less afraid, upset, or doubtful

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) noun phrase – the total value of the goods and services produced by the people of a nation during a year, not including the value of income earned in foreign countries

subdued – adj. not strong, loud, intense, etc.

stable – adj. in a good state or condition that is not easily changed or likely to change

1 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

2 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

3 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

4 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

5 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

6 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

7 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

8 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

9 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

10 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。