MA GUANGYUAN AND CHINA’S ECONOMY

'CHINA'S ECONOMY SERIOUSLY UNBALANCED'

Li Yu and Peng Chao

China Daily, May 14, 2013

China's economy is suffering from serious imbalances, financial commentator Ma Guangyuan said at the business school of Sichuan University on May 9.

"China's economy relies too much on investment and export," he said.

China's investment accounts for more than 45 percent of its GDP in recent years, almost twice the world's average. In 2010, the share climbed to 69.3 percent, according to Ma.

The high investment hasn't led to high return, however. China's investment has increased 25 percent annually in the past five years, but GDP has only increased by about 10 percent.

Low consumption is also a big problem. The share of consumption as a part of China's GDP has been falling sharply in recent years, according to materials Ma provided.

Consumption made up over 50 percent of China's GDP in the 1980s and 46 percent in the 1990s. The share fell to 33.8 percent in 2010, much lower than the world's average (61 percent).

"A nation is irresponsible to the world's economy if it doesn't consume," Ma quoted American experts.

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