China says boom in GDP growth will slow to 9 per cent in 2011

(AFP/Getty Images)

China's booming economy will slow next year but is still expected to grow by 9 per cent, state economists believe.

Liu Shijin, a deputy director of the Development Research Centre, said China's economy would slow to a moderate pace in the coming three to five years, citing challenges from rising labour costs, excess liquidity and difficulty in finding a new source of growth. The Chinese economy is currently growing at more than 10 per cent.

"Actually, we don't have to be too worried about an economy with moderate expansion," Mr Liu said. "Because the current economic growth is too high for China."

China's exports and investments would improve in 2011, but the growth rate of consumption would pull back slightly from this year's boom, he added.