The Chinese economy will continue to expand at a brisk pace next year as the government will work on maintaining steady growth, a state-run think tank said Wednesday.
The country's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow about 10 percent next year as the fundamental factors of economic performance are unlikely to change significantly, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said in the Chinese Economy Blue Book 2011.
The think tank estimated that China's GDP growth rate will hover at around 9.9 percent this year.
The major factors that can affect China's economic growth in the new year will be demand-driven domestic growth, world economic environment and the intensity of macro control policies, it said.
Since the outbreak of the global financial crisis, economic growth has been driven by domestic demand, the think tank explained. The reliance on the local market comes as uncertainty in the global recovery process has fueled concerns among Chinese exporters.
Earlier this year, the World Bank estimated that global economic growth for 2010 and 2011 will be 2.7 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively, but recently claimed that world economic growth in 2011 will not exceed 2010
levels.
In addition, the academy said macro control policies will have a negative impact on economic growth. Because investments in the real estate sector make up around 20 percent of China's overall urban fixed asset investment, the central government's tightening measures in the property market will put pressure on China's economy, according to the academy.
The Chinese government announced last week that the world's second-largest economy will shift its monetary policy from a relatively loose to a prudent stance next year, amid worries of economic overheating that could lead to inflation.
Since Oct. 20, Beijing raised interest rates once and banks' adjusted reserves ratios on two occasions, while at the same time tightening capital control and property purchases by foreign individuals and businesses.