BEIJING - The Chinese economy will bottom out in the third quarter and pick up slightly in the last three months, a think tank forecast on Saturday.

Growth in the Chinese economy is expected to stop slowing in Q3 and recover slightly in Q4 thanks to the rebound of the property market and consumption, according to a report by Renmin University's National Academy of Development and Strategy (NADS).

Investment in fixed assets will bottom out in Q3 with continued efforts to steady growth, and consumption will also pick up due to increased income and recovering exports and imports, the report said.

Amid sluggish growth, China's economy is undergoing deep structural changes such as the rise of emerging sectors, said Liu Yuanchun, NADS executive head and key writer of the report.

It suggested the government should adopt a more flexible fiscal policy and a moderately loose monetary policy to keep the economic restructuring process stable.

The economy will start to grow steadily in 2017 after the development of new growth engines in 2015 and 2016, the report added.