China will “highly-likely” suffer a 7.0 magnitude earthquake or above in the foreseeable future, the Beijing Times reported Friday.

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The prediction by Sun Shihong, the chief forecaster at the China Earthquake Center (CEC), comes after three 5.0 magnitude quakes struck in the past two weeks.

On Jan 1, 2011, a 5.1 magnitude quake struck the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and Jan 8, a 5.6 degree quake hit Jilin province, followed by 5.0 degree earthquake in the South Yellow Sea on Jan 12.

Ever since the devastating Yushu earthquake on April 14, 2010, China has experienced abnormal seismological activity. "Normally after a megaseism, there would come 3 to 4 times 6.0-degree ones, and 10 times 5.0-degree ones; however, China has experienced more than that frequency considering the figures from last year," Sun added.

He said China should be alert and take preventative measures for a possible 7.0 magnitude earthquake or greater in the coming years.