China’s Economy Probably Grew 7.7% in 2012, NDRC Official Says

China’s economy probably grew 7.7 percent in 2012, exceeding the government target of 7.5 percent, a vice chairman at the nation’s economic planning agency said.

Gross domestic product will expand about 7.5 percent this year and inflation will average 3.5 percent, Zhang Xiaoqiang, from the National Development and Reform Commission, was quoted by the official Xinhua News Agency as saying at a forum today.

Zhang gave his estimate a week before the National Bureau of Statistics releases fourth-quarter and full-year GDP data. Economic growth probably accelerated to 7.8 percent in the three months through December from a year earlier, pushing up expansion for the year to 7.7 percent, according to Bloomberg News surveys ahead of the data announcement on Jan. 18.

Zhang said on April 3 that China’s economy may have expanded about 8.4 percent in the first quarter of 2012. The official figure announced 10 days later was 8.1 percent.

Inflation accelerated more than forecast to a seven-month high of 2.5 percent in December, statistics bureau figures showed today. Customs data yesterday showed exports rose 14.1 percent last month from a year earlier, adding signs the economy is recovering from a seven-quarter slowdown.

--Zhou Xin, Penny Peng. Editors: Nerys Avery, Scott Lanman

To contact the reporter on this story: Xin Zhou in Beijing at xzhou68@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Panckhurst at ppanckhurst@bloomberg.net