The Chinese government is showing increased optimism on the recovery of its economy as lending and investment surge and manufacturing expands.

Gross domestic product (GDP), a major gauge of the economy, is likely to grow almost 8 percent year on year in the second quarter, a top official from the country's statistics bureau said yesterday.

"Judging from April and May figures and the growing trend, the GDP is expected to grow almost 8 percent in the second quarter, up from 6.1 percent in the first quarter and 6.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008," Guo Tongxin, an official from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), said in an article published on the NBS website yesterday.