Data shows economy on track for 2013 target

The economic data shows growth in China's factory output and investment have eased slightly in November, while retail sales grew at their strongest rate this year. The data suggests the economy is on track to achieve the government's growth target for the year.

Industrial output grew 10 percent in November, at a four-month low, and slightly below market expectations. Retail sales, a key gauge of domestic consumption, rose 13.7 percent in November from a year earlier.

That was the fastest growth since last December, and beat market expectations. Fixed-asset investment, an important driver of economic activity, climbed 19.9 percent in the first 11 months from the same period last year. That's 0.2 percent down from the January to October period.

The economy is expected to grow by 7.6-7.7 percent in 2013. That's just ahead of the government's 7.5 percent target.

The stable economic growth has created conditions for structural adjustment and deepening reform. The driving force for economic growth is also changing. The service sector grew 0.6 percent more than the manufacturing and building industry, and its proportion in GDP also grew 0.2 percent than that in the first half of the year.

"The international competition capability of the capital intensive and technology intensive products are rising and taking more shares in the international market. The consumption hot points in information, culture, education, health and tourism are emerging constantly. The online consumption is developing vigorously. The consumption structure in China is upgrading gradually." Yu Nin, State Council Dev't Research Center said.