China's economic growth will moderate to about 10 percent this year and 9.8 percent in 2009, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a report on Wednesday.

The bank said it made the forecast on the back of "an expected tighter domestic monetary policy and weaker external demand".

China's national economy expanded 11.4 percent in 2007 - the highest rise in 13 years.

The ADB also warned that rising food prices would stoke inflation pressure in the economy in its annual outlook report released on Wednesday.

It said the country's inflation rate was expected to average 5.5 percent in 2008 and remain around 5 percent in 2009, up from 4.8 percent in 2007.

"Aggressive monetary tightening measures, weak global economic prospects, and tighter lending policies will bring growth down to its potential levels," Ifzal Ali, chief economist of ADB said in the report.

Previously, ADB put its forecast for China's GDP growth in 2008 at 10.8 percent in September last year, while the inflation rate was predicted to be under 4 percent, at about 3.8 percent, for the year.

The Manila-based bank also said China's export growth may slow to 19 percent this year and further slow to 18 percent in 2008, down from 26 percent in 2007, because of weaker global demand and the country's export rebate reforms.

The country's imports, however, were expected to grow at 20 percent in 2008 and 2009 with the appreciation of the Chinese currency, lower import tariffs along with the implementation of other pro-import policies, it said.

The bank said China was expected to allow a faster appreciation of the yuan against the U.S. dollar faced with large amount of trade surplus and surging capital inflows, which may exacerbate excess liquidity.

It said the country would need to address three major imbalances in the economy to keep the economy on a high-growth path.

China "needs to boost domestic consumption, address the energy and environmental concerns and bridge rising income inequality between rural and urban areas," said Ali.