China says that despite the Asian economic crisis of the past eighteen months, it's come close to its economic growth target this year of eight per cent.

A statistics official in Beijing , Ye Zhen, said the economy had basically met its objectives in the face of what he called an extremely complicated international economic situation.

The BBC Beijing correspondent says the actual figure of seven-point-eight per cent achieved -- although just short of the target -- is seen as a triumph.

However, she says local officials under great pressure to report favourably may have inflated the figures -- while many planned reforms have been shelved, leaving China's underlying economic problems still to be tackled.