China's economy expands at 9.8% in 2008 (Dec 2)

China's top think tank, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences(CASS), says that the countr's economy is expected to slow down to 9.8% in 2008 and further decline to 9.3% in 2009.     In its annual Blue Paper on China's economy, which was released on Tuesday, CASS noted the Chinese economic downturn is mostly attributed to the global financial crisis. The Blue Paper also notes that housing prices will fall dramatically in a short period of time, and subsequently enter a rather long adjustment period in 2009.

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