Foreign media said the acceleration of industrial output growth in April

Foreign media reported that the growth of China's factory output, retail sales and electricity output increased slightly in April, bringing some comfort to officials and analysts who are concerned about the rapid growth slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.

According to the “Financial Times” website’s May 13 report, according to statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China on the 13th, China’s industrial output value increased by 9.3% in April from the same period in 2012, which was higher than the 8.9% growth rate in March. It is still lower than the 9.9% annualized growth rate in January and February.

At the same time, retail sales rose 12.8% in April from a year earlier. In contrast, this figure increased by 12.6% in March.

Heavy industry grew faster than lighter industries, which led to an increase in electricity production, which surged by 6.2% year-on-year in April, compared with a 2.1% year-on-year increase in March.

According to the report, the increase in investment in fixed assets is another measure of China's economic health. It slowed slightly to 20.6% in the first four months of 2013, and was 20.9% in the first three months.

Contrast with moderate deceleration is real estate investment surge, the first four months compared with the same period in 2012 increased by 21.1%, the first three months increased by 20.2%.

The National Bureau of Statistics said on the 13th that in the first four months of this year, the sales volume of real estate sales in various parts of China increased by 59.8% year-on-year, and the construction area increased by 38% year-on-year.

The report pointed out that despite the government's attempt to cool down the market and stop prices from rising rapidly, commercial real estate sales have greatly increased in recent months. The soaring real estate prices have caused many people in China to not be able to afford apartments in emerging cities in China.

Agence France-Presse on May 13 quoted the National Bureau of Statistics on the 13th, saying that China’s industrial output rose by 9.3% in April, an increase over March, but lower than market expectations. This shows that China's economic growth is weak.

This growth rate in April was faster than the 8.9% in March, but it was still slower than the median forecast of 9.5% obtained by the Dow Jones Newswires survey of 9 economists.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, investment in fixed assets rose by 20.6% in the first four months of 2013, slightly lower than the 20.9% increase in the first quarter. Fixed asset investment is an important measure of government expenditure.

According to reports, as the Chinese authorities recently announced a series of economic indicators, analysts from the Bank of America Merrill Financial Management Department stated that although they expect the Chinese economy to grow by 8.1%, they believe that the Chinese economy is facing “further downside risks”.

Some analysts called on Beijing to accelerate the pace of structural reforms. They warned that credit stimulus measures alone cannot change economic fundamentals and may increase the problem of overcapacity.