Billionaire hedge fund manager George Soros - who opted out of the game some time ago - is doubtful China's economy will chug along at a resilient pace again this year.
"China's central government has released signals to help the public prepare for slow growth this year," Soros said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, yesterday.
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"Weak exports make it difficult to reach 8 percent GDP growth."
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Last year, China's economy grew 9.2 percent, compared with 10.4 percent in 2010. "The problem is how long China can keep the fast pace," Soros said.
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In the years from 2008 to 2010, the economy grew 9 percent, 8.7 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively.
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Also in Davos, International Monetary Fund deputy managing director Zhu Min stressed the importance of emerging markets and the need for China to shift its focus to domestic demand-led growth.
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He said the yuan's gains had squeezed the profits of exporters and the consequences would be unpalatable.
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Eighteen of 24 provinces and four directly controlled municipalities which released last year's gross domestic product data reported lower year on year growth. Beijing reported the slowest growth of 8 percent. Chongqing and Tianjin posted the fastest growth rates of 16.4 percent. Shanghai, Beijing and Zhejiang Province fell below the national rate of 9.2 percent. Guangdong topped the list with its GDP valued at 5.3 trillion yuan (HK$6.49 trillion).
