China's economy is expected to grow 8.5 percent this year, said Ma Kai, minister in charge of the State Development and Reform Commission (SDRC), in Beijing Monday.

Ma said at a national work meeting on development and reform that gross domestic product (GDP) was to top 11 trillion yuan (US$1.3 trillion) this year. The economy showed a good momentum that had been long expected over the past few years.

Noting that China improved economic efficiency while maintaining a rapid growth, he predicted that profits of industrial enterprises would grow 40 percent to 50 percent this year.

Ma said that as the economy grew bigger in size, the economic structure also improved. He said high-tech industries contributed some 23.7 percent to the growth of industrial output in China this year.

He said that as government policy continued to show its effect on stimulating economic growth, the economy had become more and more dependent on its own forces to grow.

According to SDRC figures, the total investment in fixed assets was to top 5.3 trillion yuan this year, 23 percent more than last year. The majority of the investment was financed by corporate funds or bank loans, instead of government investment. The investment by collective and individual persons also saw a faster growth rate than last year.

Ma said the country had steadily pushed forward various reforms and opened wider to the outside world. According to the SDRC's estimate, China's exports would reach 820 billion US dollars this year, increasing more than 30 percent over last year.

The rapid economic growth had brought about more benefits to the people, Ma said, predicting that per capita disposable income of urban residents would grow 8 percent this year, while per capita income of rural residents would grow 4 percent. More than 8 million new jobs would be created around the country this year.

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