China economy to grow 7.4% in 2014, 7% in 2015

BEIJING: China's economy is likely to grow by 7.4 % this year, slightly below the government's target, and expand 7% in 2015, a senior government economist said on Friday.

China can still maintain annual average growth of 7% in the next 10 years, Yu Bin, director of macro-economic research department of the Development Research Centre (DRC), the cabinet's think tank, told a news conference.

Data this week showed China's annual economic growth slowed to 7.3% in the third quarter – the weakest pace since the depths of the global financial crisis, and down from 7.5% in the previous quarter.

The economy grew 7.4% in the first nine months.

China's exports are likely to grow around 6 percent this year from 2013, Yu said. He also predicted that China's combined exports and imports could grow 5-10% in the coming years. – Reuters