China Demand and Investment to Help Drive Growth: Ex-Official

China's rebounding consumer spending and recovering investment in high-tech, manufacturing and infrastructure will help growth in the second half, said Xu Xianchun, a former deputy head of the National Bureau of Statistics and now a scholar at Tsinghua University. Xu projects over 6% GDP growth in Q3, before a higher base of comparison brings Q4 below 6%. The widening vaccination programs will boost close-contact consumption, hotels and dining and rental and commercial services, Xu said. Exports will maintain strength in Q4, while the prospect for H2 will depend on the global management of the pandemic, he said. Household disposable incomes are expected to improve, while companies' profits will slow given surging costs of raw material and labor, said Xu.