BEIJING - China's annual Central Economic Work Conference has fixed a target for economic growth in 2007 of around 8 per cent, a top government economist said on Wednesday.
Zheng Xinli, an economist for the ruling Communist Party's policy research office, said however that he personally still expected growth of around 10 per cent next year, as growth tended to exceed official targets.
Mr Zheng, who attended the conference, added that he and many other government economists saw the economy expanding by about 10.5 percent for all of 2006.
The government announced at the annual session of parliament in March that it was aiming for 8 per cent growth in 2006, but after annual growth of 10.7 per cent in the first nine months, China is firmly on course to log full-year growth in double digits for the fourth year in a row. -- REUTERS
