Remember that red-hot Chinese economy? It's smoking even more these days. On Tuesday morning, the National Bureau of Statistics announced that China's economy grew at a 10.9% clip through the first half of the year.
That's impressive on its own, but it's even more powerful when you consider that the Chinese economy inched 10.3% higher through the first three months of the year. The bureau did not spell out the performance of the April, May, and June period, but logic would dictate that it improved somewhere in the vicinity of 11.5%.
China's on a roll. The economy has averaged gains of 10% over the past year, and it's been in a pretty tight range.
| GDP Growth | |
|---|---|
| 2003 | 10.0% |
| 2004 | 10.1% |
| 2005 | 9.9% |
The benefits of a buoyant economy are contagious. Real wage growth has clocked in even higher than the generous GDP spurts have in recent years. This would appear troublesome if inflation were rearing its ugly head, but that hasn't been the case. Consumer prices have been kept in check.
There are risks in international investing, but the rewards seem too great at this point to ignore the growth story brewing in the world's most populous nation -- if you can deal with the volatility.
Our newsletters have been all over China the past two years. NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) and Shanda Interactive (NASDAQ:SNDA) were singled out to Motley Fool Rule Breakers subscribers in 2004. Ctrip (NASDAQ:CTRP) and Tom Online (NASDAQ:TOMO) have made the cut at Motley Fool Hidden Gems. And SINA (NASDAQ:SINA) is an active recommendation for Motley Fool Stock Advisor newsletter readers.
If you're uncomfortable warming up to a single stock or two, how about a basket of them? Champion Funds editor Shannon Zimmerman has found market-crushing returns in recommending Matthews Pacific Tiger (FUND:MAPTX) to his mutual fund-hungry subscribers.
You don't need a map to show you that there are many routes to China. The important thing, if the economy keeps growing briskly with inflationary pressures in check, is taking the first step and making that journey.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has been a fan of China's high-margin gaming stocks for a long time. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. T he Fool has a disclosure policy. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.
