China growth to top last year’s 10.5%

DAVOS: The Chinese economy is on pace this year to outdo last year���s growth of 10.5%, an official with the Bank of China said Wednesday.

Min Zhu, group executive vice-president of the Bank of China, said his country���s domestic growth would be more balanced and that its expansion of foreign reserves would continue.

���China will have an even better year this year,��� he said. ���But the foreign reserves will keep piling up.��� He said bilateral talks between the US and China with the goal of requiring his country to make its exchange rate more flexible have also focused on asking the US to raise its own savings rate. ���It���s much easier for China to make its exchange rate more flexible than for the US to raise its savings,��� Min said.

He added China was likely move slowly with any upward revaluation of the yuan, but also added that no US policy action had been taken to increase savings, an issue considered by most economists as a part of the problem driving the US trade deficit.