China's economy will be able to achieve the 8 percent growth of gross domestic product (GDP) this year set by the central government, although there are still difficulties ahead, a senior economist said Saturday.

Yao Jingyuan, chief economist with the National Bureau of Statistics, made the remarks at a forum in Shanghai, saying the global economic downturn did not change the fundamentals of the country's economic development, buoyed by the ongoing industrialization, urbanization and marketization.

He said the country's economy has taken a turn for the better from the slowdown in the second half of last year, presenting better recovery than in the United States, Japan, Europe and the other members of the BRIC group, which includes Brazil, Russia, India and China.

The country's economy expanded at 7.9 percent from a year ago in the second quarter of this year, faster than the 6.1 percent in the first quarter, which was the worst quarterly growth in 10 years, dampened by a slump in exports.

The recovery was boosted by the active fiscal policy and moderately loose monetary policy the central government put into place in November last year.

However, he warned of "blind optimism" toward what has been achieved, adding the economic recovery is not on a solid footing yet and there are still many uncertainties ahead.

He also downplayed possibilities of inflation in China in short term, at least within this year as demand fell short of supply in the country because of overcapacity. "Less demand will prevent prices from rising," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 19, 2009)