Society

China's economy is expected to grow 9.6 percent in 2011 as fixed asset investment remains a key driver, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in an annual report released here on Wednesday.

With inflation pressures building and tightened monetary policy, China's GDP growth was forecast moderate this year, compared with a growth of 10.3 percent in 2010, said the ADB in its 2011 Asian Development Outlook, which expected a growth of 9.2 percent in China in 2012.

The inflation rate, which averaged 3.3 percent in 2010, will pick up to 4.6 percent in 2011, lifted by abundant liquidity and higher food and commodities prices, the ADB said. The bank estimated the inflation will ease back to 4.2 percent in 2012 as commodity prices level off.

Fixed asset investment will remain a key driver of growth, although the expansion rate is set to decelerate slightly from past levels, standing at 22 percent in 2011 and 20 percent in 2012 respectively, due to the winding back of fiscal stimulus measures and tighter monetary policy, the bank said.

Two American tourists wearing ancient Chinese costumes learn to write Chinese characters on bamboo slips with brushes in the World Park in Fengtai district on Wednesday. Several foreign tourists participated in a series of cultural activities to mark the traditional Tomb-sweeping Day, which falls on April 5.

A jobless loner who injured an American student when he detonated a homemade explosive device in Dongzhimen admitted on Wednesday that he had purposely targeted foreigners.

It was initially believed Lei Sen, 22, randomly set off the blast last October by remote control. However, at Dongcheng district people's court he confessed to picking out victim Michael Charles after seeing him in the street.

"I saw him approaching and I set off the bomb. I intended to target foreigners," said Lei, whose motivation was to "avenge a grudge against society".

China's consumer prices are expected to rise more than five percent in March on a lower comparison basis from a year ago and imported inflation, economists have said.

Shanghai-based Shenyin Wanguo Securities predicts the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a major gauge of inflation, to increase 5.3 percent in March, the highest in nearly two years, driven by rising food prices and a lower year-on-year comparison basis.

Food prices are likely to jump 12.3 percent from a year ago while the lower comparison basis would contribute 3.4 percent to the CPI rise, the company said in a report.