In addition, the unfair trade system and lack of external financial assistance are seriously hindering development in these countries. Over the past year, China’s economy has maintained the momentum of rapid growth. In the first half of 2004, GDP growth was 9.7 percent y-o-y, 0.9 percentage points higher than the growth rate last year.
Foreign trade continued to grow, with total imports and exports for the first eight months of 2004 reaching $ 722.1 billion. Fiscal revenue increased significantly to RMB 1.4307 trillion yuan in the first half of 2004, up 30.6 percent y-o-y.