Currency pressure to hit growth: official

Pressure from trading partners over the value of the yuan is likely to see economic growth slow in 2006 as exports suffer, reported state media, citing Vice Minister for Commerce Yi Xiaozhun. As China’s tax bureau announced that the economy had grown 9.8% in 2005, making it the third consecutive year that GDP growth has come close to the 10% mark, Yi warned that this year would not be so �relaxed�. He pointed to the need for a fairer trading environment and a boost in Chinese imports so as to reduce the country’s trade surplus. This view is supported by UBS Chief Economist Jonathan Anderson who told a conference in Shanghai Tuesday that he expects growth of 9.1% in 2006 following 10.7% in 2005.