(Yicai Global) Dec. 13 -- China's economic growth rate for 2018 will be 6.5 percent this year, according to the majority of economists that took part in a Chinese Academy of Social Sciences survey.

More than 70 percent of economists polled believe growth will reach or exceed 6.5 percent this year, China Economist, a journal run by CASS's Institute of Industrial Economics, reported after conducting a fourth quarter survey. Average predictions for eastern, central and western China were 6.5 percent, 6.5 percent and 6.4 percent.

The Economy Climate Index for the last fourth fell two points from the third to 61, while the Foreign Trade Climate Index soared 10 points to 69, the report added, suggesting China is not too concerned about the impacts of the trade frictions with the United States.

The Price Index fell 20 points to 151 as inflation eased, and economists believe that price gains are in a moderate range. Two thirds of respondents expect the price level to be higher than last year, while 19 percent expect it will remain pretty much the same.

The China Economist Employment Index for the fourth quarter was 43, three points higher three months prior. Some 12 percent of economists surveyed believe employment this year was better than last, while around a fifth expect it remained unchanged.