BEIJING - China's economic growth rate is expected to exceed nine percent this year, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Lu Zhongyuan, deputy director of the State Council Development Research Center, said at a press briefing concerning China's macro-economic development that China's economic growth will aid the global economic recovery and help to avoid a double-dip global recession.

Lu said there is no need to worry about a "hard landing" for the Chinese economy, stating that recent slowdowns in China's economic growth are within the "normal scope."

Lu said slower growth rates will actually help China to contain rising prices and readjust the country's economic structure, as well as reduce energy consumption and emissions.

According to Lu, the reasonable fluctuation range of China's economic growth should be between eight and 12 percent in view of the performance of China's economy since the adoption of the country's reform and opening-up policies in the late 1970s.

Under the current situation, China's economy must maintain an "appropriate and reasonable" growth rate, Lu said, adding that it is becoming more difficult for the country to maintain a growth rate around nine or ten percent.