Bao ba! Defend the eight! If there were any lingering doubts about China's fetish for targets, last week's publication of the contributions to economic growth in 2009 should have removed them. As exports plummeted, Beijing compensated by ramping up investment to keep gross domestic product growth at a level appropriate for the 60th anniversary year of the founding of the People's Republic. Ninety two per cent of last year's 8.7 per cent growth came from spending on fixed assets, without which the country had hitherto functioned fine. The 8 per cent growth target, in short, was everything.
保八！如果有人還在懷疑中國對(duì)于目標(biāo)的崇拜，那么上周發(fā)布的2009年經(jīng)濟(jì)增幅中的各種貢獻(xiàn)因素，應(yīng)當(dāng)打消任何殘存的疑慮。在出口大幅下滑之際，作為補(bǔ)償，北京方面加大了投資力度，使國內(nèi)生產(chǎn)總值(GDP)增長保持在與中華人民共和國成立60周年相稱的水平上。在去年8.7%的經(jīng)濟(jì)增幅中，92%來自固定資產(chǎn)支出，而此前中國即便沒有這些固定資產(chǎn)投資也運(yùn)行良好。總之，8%的增長目標(biāo)壓倒一切。