China's economy will lose momentum marginally, with the gross domestic product (GDP) projected to grow at a rate of about 8 percent in 2006, according to the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.(Xinhua)

China faces important challenges this year despite a benign economic outlook as it tries to boost domestic consumption and deal with international trade tensions, according to the World Bank.(SD-Agencies)

The statistics of China's Consumer Price Index (CPI) issued by China's National Bureau of Statistics are authentic, an official with the bureau said on Thursday. Various misconceptions of CPI have led to doubts on the statistics, said the official in charge of the investigation into the social economy of cities, noting that CPI is calculated based on the relevant figures  with a group of major commodity items and daily services, which reflect the market's price fluctuations. The official said it is unreasonable to conclude that the calculation of CPI is not reliable only because it fails to accord with the changes of residents' life burden, which actually is the comprehensive result of various factors, besides consumption prices.(Xinhua)

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