Economic growth is to be slow but steady

BEIJING - The growth of China's economy is set to moderate during the next two years as the expansion of investment and exports decelerates but there is "very little risk of a hard landing", the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Wednesday.

The Chinese economy is likely to expand by 9.6 percent this year and 9.2 percent in 2012, slower than the 10.3 percent growth rate last year that was mainly driven by the rebound in exports and investment, the Manila-based bank forecast in its 2011 Asian Development Outlook.

While fixed asset investment will remain a key driver of the nation's economic growth during the next two years, the momentum of the expansion will decelerate because of the winding-back of the government's fiscal stimulus measures and a tighter monetary policy, ADB said in its report.