China's economy will pick up pace a little in 2013 and inflationary pressures will increase, the deputy governor of the country's central bank said Saturday.

"I think China's growth rate will be about 8 percent this year,"Yi Gang said during a debate at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He said consumer price inflation could reach 3 percent or slightly higher.

The world's second-biggest economy grew by 7.8 percent last year, well below the average 10-percent growth seen in the past three decades but better than the government's own target of 7.5 percent and above analyst expectations.

The annual figure was boosted by a recovery in industrial production and exports in the fourth quarter, which grew 7.9 percent, prompting economists to forecast a slow but steady recovery in 2013.

The acceleration in the last three months of 2012 followed seven quarters of slowing growth as China felt the impact of weak activity in the United States and Europe, as well as its own efforts to control a real estate boom and contain inflation.

China's manufacturing sector showed more signs of improvement this month, with a preliminary reading of purchasing managers' sentiment rising to its highest level in two years.

Inflation rose to 2.5 percent in December, as a spurt of extremely cold weather drove food prices higher. That compared with 2 percent in November, but still represents tame inflation - the government aims to keep annual inflation below 4 percent.

China is trying to rebalance its economy, placing greater emphasis on consumption. Yi said domestic demand was playing an ever more important role in the economy as growth in incomes outpaced GDP growth.

(SD-Agencies)