Beijing said Tuesday the country remains a developing country, though its gross domestic product has become the world’s second largest.

A government spokesman told reporters in Beijing that it will continue to work diligently to improve economic quality and people’s livelihood.

Yao Jian, a Commerce Ministry spokesman, said that there are millions of impoverished Chinese scattered in the countryside and in the country’s least developed hinterland.

Japan government confirmed Monday that its second-quarter GDP was lower than China’s. China overtook Japan after Tokyo on Monday reported quarterly gross domestic product of $1.286 trillion, behind China's $1.335 trillion reported earlier.

"China remains a developing country," Yao said. "The quality of China's economic development still needs to be raised. It needs more effort to improve economic quality and people's lives."

China has more than 40 million people living below its official poverty line, Yao said.

"We should care not only about the gross domestic product data but also about per-capita GDP," Yao said.

By People’s Daily Online