China's economy is expected to grow 7.5% in the second quarter this year due to obvious signs indicating a pick-up in the economy since May, a report forecast on Wednesday.
The forecast came after economic growth in the world's second largest economy slowed to 7.4% in the first quarter, marking the lowest rate of growth in six quarters.
In order to ease the downward pressure, the government has rolled out a raft of measures to ensure stable growth since April, including plans to boost investment in railways and affordable housing projects, tax reductions for small and micro-sized firms, and cuts to reserve requirement ratios for certain banks, said the report, which was released by the International Finance Research Institute under the Bank of China.
The report said that these initiatives have started to take effect in boosting the economy, as reflected by improvements in industrial output, consumption, exports and electric power generation.
The report predicted that third-quarter growth will rise to 7.6% on expectations of improved external demand, domestic policies to stabilize exports and the depreciation of the yuan, the Chinese currency, according to (Xinhua) news agency.
However, challenges remain that may pose risks to the economy, including a cooling real estate market, local government debts and overcapacity, the report noted.