China is likely to see economic expansion next year decelerate to 7.1 percent as a slowdown in real estate investment continues. While growth may slow, the outlook for employment and inflation remains stable, and labor-market conditions won’t be a major concern, Ma Jun, chief economist of the People’s Bank of China’s research center, wrote in a working paper dated Dec. 12. The growth projection compares with the monetary authority’s forecast for 7.4 percent expansion this year, the slowest pace since 1990. “The downward pressure caused by the slowdown in real estate investment” will drag on any gains to growth from ... (full story)