A noted economist has predicted China's export is sure to decline in 2006, which will slow down the country's GDP growth to a moderate 8.7 percent.

"The growth momentum is still there because China is in transition from agricultural to industrial society -- a period for rapid economic growth," said Zhao Xiao, a leading researcher for macro strategies with the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC).

Against a favorable backdrop of domestic and international settings, Zhao said China's economy will continue to grow next year with continued investment and consumption rises and robust domestic demand that will offset its export decline.

China has maintained rapid economic growth this year, with industrial added value and retail sales of consumer goods climbing 16.3 percent and 13 percent respectively over 2004, he told an annual forum on the real estate industry in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

In a recent quarterly update on China's economy, the World Bank also forecast 8.7 percent GDP growth for China next year, down from 9.3 percent projected for this year.

(Xinhua News Agency November 11, 2005)