The Chinese economy was likely to maintain stable and fast growth this year, despite being beset with problems and uncertainties, as fundamentals of the economy remained unchanged, National Bureau of Statistics Chief Economist Yao Jingyuan said yesterday.

Yao made the remarks at a forum in Beijing on energy conservation and emission reduction and corporate social responsibilities. The forum was jointly sponsored by the international cooperation center of the National Development and Reform Commission and China Association of Resources Comprehensive Utilization.

Yao said the fundamental forces shoring up the Chinese economy - industrialization, urbanization, market-oriented drive and internationalization - had undergone no big changes and would continue to function as major drivers of the economy.

Yao said China was at the middle stages of industrialization and there was still a long way to go before the nation entered the post-industrialization era. For quite a long period of time, industrialization would continue to be a major driving force for the Chinese economy, he said.

He said the automotive sector was an example of that growth. In 1992 China produced 1 million motor vehicles. The annual auto output reached 7.27 million units in 2006 and 8.8 million the following year. Production is expected to top 10 million units this year.

Yao said the most outstanding challenges China faced were an unbalanced economic structure and large inflationary pressure.

He noted the Chinese economy now relied heavily on investment, exports and manufacturing, with agriculture and service sector remaining weak and the service sector claiming a small share.

Last year, the service sector accounted for only 40.1 percent of the country's GDP, much lower than the world average of 70 percent.

(Xinhua News Agency July 28, 2008)