(Yicai Global) Jan. 8 -- The Chinese economy will rebound swiftly this year as the nation’s gross domestic product grows around 8.5 percent, 0.6 percentage points higher than a previous World Bank projection, the Chinese Academy of Sciences forecast based on data it released today.

The CAS Center for Forecasting Sciences made the prediction at a forum in Beijing today, The Paper reported. The Chinese economy will grow rapidly before slowing as this year goes by, rising 16.3 percent in the first quarter and 7.3 percent, 6.3 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively, in the second to the fourth quarters, per the data.

Primary industry will grow 3.2 percent, secondary industry 9.5 percent, and tertiary industry 8.4 percent, the CAS projected, saying consumption will become a major driving force for economic growth at a nominal growth rate between 10.7 percent and 11.7 percent over the year before.

The digital economy will likewise develop at a fast clip this year, so young people will be more willing to loosen their purse strings, while women’s consumption and the maternal and infant market will also expand, Yang Cuihong, the center’s deputy director, said at the one-day China Economic Forecast Release and High-End Forum, adding the government will continue to cut taxes and fees to boost consumption.

The country’s imports and exports are set to total around USD4.9 trillion in 2021, up 5.7 percent on the year as the Covid-19 pandemic comes under certain control. Imports will stack up to some USD2.7 trillion, and exports around USD2.2 trillion, generating a USD576.6 billion trade surplus.

The global economy will swell 4 percent this year on the premise of wide use of Covid-19 vaccines, and the Chinese economy will grow 7.9 percent on the release of pent-up demand and the faster-than-expected recovery of production and exports, the World Bank said in a report issued earlier this month.

Formed in 2006, the center aims to promote the research and development of forecasting sciences and provide scientific bases and suggestions for the government to make major decisions. It has been issuing its annual economic forecast for 16 straight years.

Editor: Ben Armour, Xiao Yi