Experts call for slower expansion

CHINA'S economic growth should slow to below 11 percent next year and every effort should be made to keep it around nine percent in the future to prevent the economy from overheating, economists with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said yesterday.

They also predicted that the Beijing Olympics Games will generate a handsome profit of up to US$16 million for China.

"China's economy continues in the fast track this year and is prone to become overheated with surging consumer prices, fixed-asset investment and exports," Chen Jiagui, vice president of the CASS and director of its economic research division, said at a press conference yesterday in Beijing.

The conference was held to introduce a new blue paper on China's economy published by the CASS.

The blue paper estimated China's gross domestic product will post a 11.6-percent growth this year, with consumer prices jumping 4.5 percent, fixed-asset investment increasing 21.6 percent and a trade surplus widening to US$260 billion.

Chen said China should slow the economy gradually as part of macroeconomic measures through price stability and reducing investment and trade surplus.

Li Jinhua, an economist with the CASS and one of the compilers of the blue paper, concurred with Chen's remark over risk of overheating. Li said the country should strive for economic growth at below 11 percent in 2008 and at nine percent in the coming years.

Li also said the Beijing Olympics next year will bring China a substantial revenue and profit.

"It is estimated the Olympics will yield a revenue of US$1.625 billion. With an expenditure of US$1.609 billion, China can strike a US$16 million surplus," said Li.

He also said the Olympics will obviously boost Beijing's tourism industry, with an expected foreign-currency revenue of at least US$4.8 billion and yuan-denominated income of 139 billion yuan (US$18.5 billion).