CHINA expects its economic growth in the third quarter to be at 9.2 percent, down from 10.3 percent in the previous quarter. The slowdown comes as industrial production and investment are set to soften, a government report said today.

The Consumer Price Index, a main gauge of inflation, may increase around 3 percent in the third quarter. The report said the inflationary pressure is mild and controllable. Retail sales are expected to be a mainstay of the economy as a surge of 18.2 percent is forecasted during the July-September period. The pace will equal that for the first half of the year.

In the process of economic restructuring and energy use reduction, it is inevitable that the speed of the growth will be affected, said the report of the State Information Center, an institute under the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner.

The expected 9.2-percent growth for gross domestic product is seen as a stable pace given the the global economic environment which features numerous uncertainties, the report said.

China's industrial production and investment growth have slackened in the past months.

Industrial output gained 13.7 percent from a year earlier in June, compared with 16.5 percent in May. The urban fixed-asset investment rose 25.5 percent to 9.8 trillion yuan (US$1.45 trillion) through June, down 0.4 percentage point from that in the first five months.