Nearly 80 percent of economists polled expect that China’s economic growth will slow to 8 to 9 percent year on year in 2012, amid lingering global crisis, according to a survey jointly released by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and financial information provider Hexun.com.

79 of the 100 polled renowned economists anticipate year-on-year growth at 8 percent to 9 percent in 2012, citing unfavorable economic situations in the western counties led by European countries and the United States.

There are also economists who believe Chinese economy will perform well despite outside dragging-down factors, with 16 percent predict the economic growth at 9 -10 percent in 2012.

As for the real estate market, some 70 percent bet that home prices will continue to decline in the year.

China’s economic growth may have slowed to 8.7 percent from a year earlier in the fourth quarter of 2011, a Bloomberg survey shows.