2010-07-05 16:18

BEIJING: China is experiencing a "slight slowdown" in growth but remains on track to achieve a 9.5 percent rise in GDP this year, a prominent government economist said in remarks published on Monday.

Lu Zhongyuan, a deputy director of the State Council Development Research Center, which advises the central government, told the People's Daily newspaper that recent indicators showed the Chinese economy was cooling a little, especially compared to heady numbers of a year ago.

But Lu dismissed the idea that China could risk a "double dip" in growth.

"Our national economic performance has come down from a high, but it remains at a normal level," Lu told the newspaper.

"We can expect that this slight slowdown in the economy will not reverse in the short term, but there are no clear pressures for a major slowdown."

China's economy is likely to come down from highs set in the first part of the year, but nonetheless grow about 9.5 percent for the year, said Lu.

Data released last week showed Chinese manufacturing growth slowed in June as government steps to cool the property market and curb bank lending combined with a faltering global recovery to dampen sentiment.

The economy grew 11.9 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier.

Tepid global growth and Europe's sovereign debt woes, could weigh down China's export growth, Lu said. China's own efforts to cool its head real estate sector could also affect investment, he added.

But those factors would not derail growth, and China's macro-economic settings would remain stable, Lu said.

In the same newspaper, a senior economist at another government think tank said inflationary pressures persisted but remained "mild."

Zhu Baoliang, at the State Information Center, said the consumer price index would probably stay slightly high through to July, but CPI for the year would not surpass 3 percent.