China's economy

The gross domestic product (GDP) grew 6.8 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, compared to 9 percent in the third quarter and 13 percent in 2007. This dragged down the annual growth rate for 2008 to a seven-year-low of 9 percent.
The economic growth is likely bottoming out in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009, the U.S. investment bank said.
In the first quarter, export growth could fall further, but domestic demand is likely to gain some momentum, it said, adding that the two forces will offset each other and lead to a GDP growth similar to the fourth quarter.
"After that, rise in domestic demand will likely outpace the fall in external demand, and we expect growth to pick up from the second quarter and we are quite confident about an 8 percent GDP growth in 2009," the bank said.