????由于出口下滑和房市降溫政策對(duì)經(jīng)濟(jì)的影響，中國經(jīng)濟(jì)增速降至2009年以來的最低點(diǎn)。但是，這些并沒有拖垮中國的消費(fèi)者。

????中國國家統(tǒng)計(jì)局（China's National Bureau of Statistics）上周公布的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，與去年同期相比，2012年第一季度經(jīng)濟(jì)增速下降至8.1%，低于此前分析師8.4%的預(yù)期，進(jìn)而引發(fā)了國際市場(chǎng)的擔(dān)憂：即這個(gè)世界上增速最快的大國內(nèi)部需求正在趨于疲軟。

????但是，也有亮點(diǎn)：政府及家庭消費(fèi)表現(xiàn)活躍，相比過去十年的平均貢獻(xiàn)率只有41.6%，今年第一季度政府及家庭消費(fèi)對(duì)GDP的貢獻(xiàn)率達(dá)到了76%。由于中國長期以來被稱為儲(chǔ)蓄國，這一點(diǎn)著實(shí)令人吃驚。

????確實(shí)，消費(fèi)的大幅增長反映了出口和投資的下滑。多年來，在國際市場(chǎng)上銷售的中國產(chǎn)品和服務(wù)促進(jìn)了中國經(jīng)濟(jì)的發(fā)展。但是，全球金融危機(jī)爆發(fā)以來，中國的出口就已經(jīng)呈現(xiàn)出放緩之勢(shì)。歐洲是中國最大的出口市場(chǎng)，而歐洲的債務(wù)危機(jī)尚未見底，因此出口的前景依然慘淡。至于投資，中國在基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施方面的支出幾乎占到經(jīng)濟(jì)的一半。經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)界和官方都指出，這一比例將難以為繼。

????為了降低貿(mào)易順差，中國經(jīng)常提出目標(biāo)，要求實(shí)現(xiàn)增長的再平衡，促使公民減少儲(chǔ)蓄，擴(kuò)大消費(fèi)。這并不是說中國不久就能實(shí)現(xiàn)這個(gè)目標(biāo)，但是上周公布的GDP數(shù)據(jù)顯示，中國或許已經(jīng)取得了初步進(jìn)展。即使沒有取得進(jìn)展，至少也說明中國國內(nèi)消費(fèi)堪稱穩(wěn)健。

????當(dāng)然，中國消費(fèi)者的消費(fèi)能力一部分要?dú)w功于他們苛刻的儲(chǔ)蓄習(xí)慣，而中國政府嘗試通過“十二五”規(guī)劃（2011－15年）改變這種習(xí)慣。麥肯錫咨詢公司（McKinsey & Company'）公布的2011年中國消費(fèi)者年度調(diào)查顯示，中國消費(fèi)者通常把收入的三分之一用于儲(chǔ)蓄，而在美國，這一數(shù)據(jù)僅為4.4%。

????但是，即使中國經(jīng)濟(jì)增速放緩，消費(fèi)者仍然保持著非常樂觀的態(tài)度。這是因?yàn)?，“十二五”?guī)劃要求最低工資每年至少增長13%，地方政府通過提高工資水平，刺激國內(nèi)消費(fèi)。今年年初，中國兩大主要城市北京和深圳均提高了最低工資水平。第一季度，城鎮(zhèn)實(shí)際工資與去年相比增長了9.8%，而農(nóng)村地區(qū)的工資同比增長了12.7%。過去兩年中，全國工資已經(jīng)增長了22%。

????但是，在工資上漲的同時(shí)，物價(jià)也在迅速上漲。因此，如果不是因?yàn)橥ㄘ浥蛎浀囊蛩?，工資增長產(chǎn)生的額外消費(fèi)原本應(yīng)更高。雖然如此，大多數(shù)中國人認(rèn)為工資未來仍會(huì)繼續(xù)上漲，所以消費(fèi)依然保持了穩(wěn)定。麥肯錫咨詢公司的調(diào)查顯示，2010年接受調(diào)查的消費(fèi)者中，39%的人預(yù)計(jì)，工資在未來一年將出現(xiàn)增長，而2011年58%的受訪消費(fèi)者都認(rèn)為漲薪在即。

????總部位于上海的中國市場(chǎng)研究集團(tuán)（China Market Research Group）總經(jīng)理肖恩?賴因指出，如果將全國各地的數(shù)十萬家小型餐廳和商店計(jì)算在內(nèi)，家庭實(shí)際消費(fèi)將遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)字。這是因?yàn)椋胤秸褂妙A(yù)先估值而不是實(shí)際的銷售額實(shí)施協(xié)商征稅，結(jié)果造成小型餐廳和商店的銷售額被大幅低估。

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????China's economy is growing at its weakest pace since 2009, as slumping exports and measures to cool the property market weigh on the economy. But that's not dragging down consumers.

????GDP decelerated to 8.1% during the first three months of 2012, compared with a year earlier, according to data released by China's National Bureau of Statistics last week. The growth was lower than the 8.4% that analysts expected, fueling concerns in international markets about weakening demand in the world's fastest-growing large economy.

????But there was one bright spot: Spending by households and government proved resilient, contributing to 76% of GDP – up from an average of 41.6% during the past decade. This is particularly surprising, given that China has long been known as a nation of savers.

????True, the rise largely reflects the drop in exports and investments. China's goods and services sold abroad have driven its economy for years, but that has slowed since the global financial crisis. And the outlook remains bleak as the debt crisis in Europe, China's biggest export market, sees little end in sight. As for investments, what China spends on infrastructure and the like accounts for almost half of its economy – a level many economists and officials have said can't continue.

????To narrow its trade surplus, China's oft-stated goal has been to rebalance growth so that its citizens save less and spend more. Not to say that China today is anywhere close to achieving that, but last week's GDP data suggests that perhaps tentative progress has been made. If not that, then it at least speaks to the steadiness of the Chinese consumer.

????Of course, part of the resilience of China's consumers comes from their rigid saving habits, which the Chinese government has been trying to reverse under its five-year plan for 2011-15. On average, they save one-third of their incomes, compared with 4.4% in the U.S., according to McKinsey & Company's 2011 annual Chinese consumer survey.

????But even as the Chinese economy slows, consumers appear quite optimistic. This comes as local governments push wages higher in efforts to boost consumption at home, as part of the five-year plan to raise the minimum wage at least 13% annually. Earlier this year, two of China's leading cities, Beijing and Shenzen, raised minimum wages. During the first quarter, urban real wages rose 9.8% from a year earlier, while wages in rural areas rose 12.7% during the same period. And for the past two years, wages grew 22% nationwide.

????However, higher wages have been met with rapidly rising prices. So the extra spending that the pay bumps would have generated could have been higher if not for inflation. Nevertheless, consumption has stayed steady as most Chinese think wages will rise further in the future. Whereas 39% of consumers in 2010 said they expect their incomes to rise in the next year, 58% surveyed in 2011 said they see higher pay in the horizon, according to McKinsey.

????If we take into account the hundreds of thousands of smaller restaurants and shops that dot across the country, households are spending markedly more than statistics would suggest, says Shaun Rein, managing director of Shanghai-based China Market Research Group. This is because sales at such businesses are often grossly underreported, since local governments often negotiate tax payments on sales upfront using an estimate rather than basing it on actual transactions.