With exports far outpacing imports, analysts predicted the trade surplus would reach US$60 billion in the first quarter, and total 200 billion dollars for the whole year.

But some worried that about 30 percent of the US$39.6 billion of the surplus for the first two months might be falsely reported, as goods delivered by industrial enterprises for export increased 23.6 percent in the first two months, much less than the 41.5 percent growth registered in export volume.

Analysts predicted the country's investment would grow 22 to 25 percent in the first quarter.

Fan Jianping with the State Information Center warned the figure might be higher, as local governments might present lower investment growth rates during the two sessions to demonstrate their efforts in executing the policy to curb investment.

China's consumer price index (CPI) would settle at about 2.6 percent in the first quarter, and might reach three percent in the next nine months, analysts said.

The country would face mounting pressure from rising prices, non-food prices in particular, boosted by increasing consumption with people earning more, Li said.

Li predicted that industrial profits would rise by more than 25 percent this year, if the economy saw double-digit growth.

Investment bank Citigroup raised its 2007 forecast for the economy from 9.8 percent to 10.3 percent, and Goldman Sachs raised it to 10.8 percent at the end of March.

The government is scheduled to release the official economic statistics for the first quarter in mid-April.

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