China Expects Substantial Growth in 2008

Beijing, China, December 21, 2007--China's economic growth is expected to slow slightly next year to  10.9 percent, with inflation at 4.5 percent, the central bank's research bureau said in a forecast reported Friday..

The country's global trade surplus is expected to rise 20 percent next year to US$300 billion (euro209 billion), as reported in the China Securities Journal.

China's economy is expected to expand by more than 11 percent this year, up from annual growth of 10.7 percent in 2006 -- the highest since 1995.

Consumer inflation has picked up and hit a decade-high monthly rate of 6.9 percent in November.