SHANGHAI - Economic growth in China will be about 8.5 percent this year, with domestic demand being the driving force for expansion, a Bank of Communications report predicted.

Demand from Europe and the United States will bottom out and boost Chinese trade. Exports will rise about 8.5 percent this year from 2012 and imports will climb 10 percent, the report released on Friday said.

Domestic demand will continue to replace investment as the leading engine for economic growth, according to the report. It forecast nominal growth for retail sales at 16 percent and actual growth rate at 12.5 percent in 2013.

China will adopt loose fiscal and stable monetary policies to support the real economy. Its new lending will stand at about 9 to 9.5 trillion yuan ($1.43 to $1.51 trillion) in 2013, the report said.

China's gross domestic product grew 7.8 percent year-on-year to 51.93 trillion yuan, the first annual growth rate below 8 percent since 1999, National Bureau of Statistics data showed on Friday.

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