China's GDP expected to be 8.2% this year: Report

China's GDP growth is expected to be 8.2 percent this year, and global investors will still increase their holdings of Chinese assets over the long term, Shenzhen Economic Daily reported, citing predictions by an economist.

Wang Tao, head of Asia economics and chief China economist with UBS Investment Bank, made this prediction during a conference call held on Tuesday, adding that in the second half, GDP growth is expected to weaken due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

In the long term, the prospect that China's economy will continue its growth remained unchanged, and global investors will still increase their holdings of Chinese assets, Wang said. Chinese currency, the yuan, also known as the renminbi, will fluctuate in a wide range against the US dollar, trading at about 6.4 this year.

In terms of a string of regulation policies unveiled in the near term, Wang said the supervision of tech and internet platforms and companies doesn't violate innovation and self-discipline, adding it will be a strategy and direction in the future.

At present, global holdings of Chinese stocks in the A-share market accounted for less than five percent of the total market capitalization, said Meng Lei, an A-share strategist at UBS Securities.

Though some people are concerned about withdrawal of foreign capital, the latest data showed it didn't happen, Meng said. In fact, in August, there was more than 20 billion yuan in net inflow of funds through "northbound trading," or money invested from Hong Kong into the Chinese mainland through stock connect programs, Meng added.