Citigroup expects Chinas GDP up 6.8% in 2017

The third and fourth quarter of this year will also rise 6.7 percent and 6.6 percent respectively, as stated by Citigroup at a conference in Hong Kong on Thursday.

"Investment continues to play an important role in economic growth from July to December, with investment in fixed assets expected to increase 8.9 percent by the end of 2017 from 8.6 percent in the first half," Liu Ligang, chief China economist of Citigroup, said while attending the economic outlook conference.

"Consumption is also one of the pillars to support economy."

In the aspect of the real estate market, Liu said it would bear downward pressure in the recent period among government efforts to regulate the market, and added real estate was not going to collapse in the medium term.

As China has a great trade surplus and export strength, more open capital market and optimistic treasury bond yields, the exchange rate of renminbi will be stable in the near future, according to Citigroup.

The companys forecast for RMB against the dollar will also move in the range of 6.7 to 6.9 in the second half of the year.

The latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China showed the nations GDP grew at a faster-than-expected rate of 6.9 percent year-on-year in the first two quarters, well above the governments target for the year of 6.5 percent. The International Monetary Fund also revised up Chinas growth forecast for 2017, from 6.6 percent in April to 6.7 percent, on Monday.

In addition, Citigroup anticipated Chinas GDP growth rate of 2018 will reach 6.5 percent.

Tan Xinyu contributed to the story