China's Economic Growth Expected to Continue

China's economy is forecasted to maintain its fast growth in the second quarter of this year, with its gross domestic product (GDP) rising by 10.8 per cent, according to the State Information Center (SIC).

"The second quarter of 2007 will witness a slight slowdown in growth of the economy compared with that of the first quarter," the SIC report predicted.

According to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the country's GDP totaled 5.03 trillion yuan (653 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of this year, soaring by 11.1 per cent.

Li Xiaochao, NBS spokesman, previously stated that this rapid economic growth has been driven by rising levels of foreign investment and domestic consumption, coupled with the booming import/export industry, warning that such speed of growth could put the economy risk of overheating.

Also in the SIC report, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, is predicted to rise to 3 percent in the next quarter.

NBS figures back up the SIC's predictions, showing a CPI of 2.7 percent in the first three months of the year, 1.5 percent higher than that of the same period last year.

Experts with the SIC asserted that China should continue to strengthen macro-control measures to solve problems that include excessive liquidity and a huge international payments surplus.

The SIC claimed that the government should spend more on infrastructure construction, new energy and rural development whilst increasing imports and modifying trade structures.