(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-02-20 21:13

- The World Bank lowered its 2008 economic growth forecast for China from 10.8 percent to 9.6 percent earlier this month. It said that the  economy would decelerate this year but still maintain high growth, since China seemed able to resist the negative impact of weakening global growth.

- Li Pumin, the spokesman with the National Development and Reform Commission, said that China had gotten stronger over the past 30 years of opening up and its economic fundamentals were not hampered by snowstorms in the southern region. He didn't give any specific figures.

- Xie Fuzhan, head of the National Bureau of Statistics, said that the United States and China were two major engines of the world economy. The decelerating US economy would no doubt have a negative impact on the world economy. So the slowing in the Chinese economy, which had been on the verge of overheating, would be what Chinese decision makers had expected, he said.

- Fan Jianping, an economist with the State Information Center, a government think tank, echoed Li, saying that there had been no change in the fundamentals of the economy. He said that growth could still hit around 10.5 percent for 2008. He added that the impact of the weather would be transient and limited and could hopefully help cool the economy.

On the negative side:

- Wang Jian, a macro-economic analyst with the National Development Reform Commission, said that China faced the risk of "stagflation", a period of inflation combined with economic stagnation.

- Ha Jiming, China International Capital Corp. Ltd. chief economist, said that the economy would keep growing rapidly in the next eight to 10 years but with fluctuations, which would be most likely to occur in 2008 and 2009.

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