(VOVworld) - China’s economic growth is expected to slow to 7 percent in the first quarter due to weakening investment in production and the property market, the State Information Center (SIC) said on Monday.

An employee works at a logistic center in Huaibei, Anhui province, Jan 20, 2015. (Photo:chinadaily)

The SIC also said that this was a sign that policymakers will have to roll out more stimulus to support faltering growth. China's consumer price index (CPI) is set to increase by only 1.2 percent, compared with 2 percent a year earlier. Meanwhile, export growth is accelerating thanks to the global economic recovery and the strategic "Belt and Road" initiatives to boost China's outbound investment and foreign trade. However, import demand has lowered due to a weakening domestic market. The SIC forecast that first quarter exports will grow by around 5 percent, while imports will decline by 10.7 percent. China's economy grew by 7.4 percent in 2014, the weakest annual expansion in 24 years.