China trade picks up and inflation eases China's economic growth ticked up in the final quarter of last year from a three-year low. The World Bank and private sector forecasters expect economic growth of about 7.5pc this year. That would be stronger than the West and Japan but China's weakest performance since the 1990s. Inflation eased to 2pc in January from the previous month's 2.5pc despite a 37pc jump in vegetable prices after the coldest winter in seven years damaged crops, the National Bureau of Statistics reported. Vegetable prices in some areas soared 74.6pc. The inflation decline was due in part to comparison with last January, when the Lunar New Year holiday began earlier and food prices spiked as families stocked up for banquets. This year, the food price spike will show up in February data. Pressure for prices to rise has increased in recent months, possibly constraining Beijing's ability to support the recovery if needed with more spending or interest rate cuts. Inflation is politically dangerous in a society where the poorest families spend up to half their incomes on food. Beijing is pinning its hopes for recovery on government-driven investment and domestic consumer spending. That is rising but not as fast as authorities want, forcing the government to fill the gap with spending on building subways and other public works. Analysts warn China's recovery could be vulnerable if trade or government spending weaken. Societe Generale said last month there still is a chance of a "hard landing," with growth dropping below 6 percent, which would be dangerously low for China. "A deceleration is likely by the end of the year if further stimulus measures are not forthcoming, which they probably won't because of latent inflation pressures," said Chan of Moody's. Exports are expected to record moderate growth as the global economy recovers. China's global trade surplus widened 6.5pc from January 2012 to $29.2bn. Exports were $187.4bn while imports totaled $158.2bn. The politically volatile trade surplus with the United States, which has temporarily overtaken the struggling European Union as China's biggest export market, narrowed by 2.8pc from a year earlier to a still-hefty $17.2 bn. The trade surplus with the 27-nation EU contracted 10.9pc to $12.3bn. Exports to France fell 6.4pc and shipments to Italy were off 2.8pc.