China's economy has entered into a new stage of fast growth from its adjustment-recovery period since the outbreak of the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997

China's economy has entered into a new stage of fast growth from its adjustment-recovery period since the outbreak of the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, and six major changes have taken place in the conditions bolstering up China's economic growth, said Qiu Xiaohua, Deputy Director of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), on November 10. He also said at the 2003 China Economic Growth Forum held in Suzhou, coastal Jiangsu Province, that what worried him last year was how to keep a sustained growth of the economy, but now some people are worried about whether the economy is overheating, China's economy has got across a turning point. The first three quarters of this year saw an 8.5 percent increase. And power shortage, price hike for steel products, and the substantial rise in housing and automobile consumption have all convinced people that China's economy is marching forward toward a new higher stage. Qiu pointed out that in the discussions on the supporting factors boosting this round of growth, many critics linked up the growth with the rapid expansion of the credit scale as well as the economic behavior of local governments. However, a question that must not be neglected is that fundamental changes have taken place in the force supporting economic growth. In terms of investment, the fast economic growth is attributed to the rapid increase in private investment and overseas direct investment. It is also worth noticing that residents' upgraded consumption must not be underestimated. According to Qiu's analysis, China's WTO membership has ushered in a new stage for China's opening to the outside world. The initial establishment of a new framework for the socialist market economic system has added fresh vigor to China's economy. A well-off society has been established as a whole, and new space has been opened for economic restructuring. In a word, China's new economic growth is the natural result of the interaction between marketization and internationalization and the increasing reinforcement of the inherent power of the economy.