THE YEAR OF DRAGON,A YEAR OF ENCOURAGING AND CHALLENGING

The Chinese people have just celebrated the Spring Festival, the Year of Dragon. Viewing back to the past year and looking to the future of the new year, I'm full of confidence on China's economy, and as a shipping man, even more delighted to see the recovery of Chinese shipping market and its booming prospects. 1. RAPID AND HEALTHY ECONOMIC GROWTH SUSTAINABLE China has succeeded in keeping its economy at a reasonable growth rate in the past year-the gross domestic product (GDP) for 1999 reached 7.1 per cent, which is very