China's economic growth may slow to 9.4 percent this year, and 9.2 percent next year, due to weakening external demand caused by the US subprime crisis and a global economic slowdown, according to the World Bank's semi-annual report on East Asia released yesterday.

The bank previously projected China's economy to grow by 9.6 percent this year. The reason for the notch-down is "purely on the external front," said Louis Kuijs, senior economist of the World Bank's Beijing office at the release of the report. "The global economy is worse than anybody has expected."

The US subprime crisis has exacerbated concerns that it will lead to a global slowdown and reduce demand for China's exports, one of the driving forces of the country's brisk economy, which expanded by 11.4 percent last year.