BEIJING -- US investment bank Goldman Sachs on Monday issued a forecast that China's GDP growth rate will be 9.8 percent with CPI (consumer price index) inflation at 2.4 percent this year.

China's real GDP growth rate is targeted at eight percent, as stated in the government work report delivered by Premier Wen Jiabao to the annual National People's Congress meeting the same day.

The Goldman Sachs report maintained the growth target was not a forecast of the government, but served as "an indicative message from the central government to the local governments that further growth acceleration at the local level would not be appreciated by the central government".

The Goldman Sachs report accords with a Standard Chartered Bank forecast that the economy would grow at about 9.7 percent in 2007 with investment growth rate staying high at 20 percent.

The government set the annual CPI inflation target at below three percent. The Goldman Sachs report regarded it as a demonstration of the government's resolve in maintaining monetary control, predicting a CPI inflation rate at 2.4 percent.

Though the country set the GDP growth rate target at seven percent in 2004, and eight percent in 2005 and 2006, the actual rates were 10.1 percent, 10.4 percent and 10.7 percent respectively.