It will be difficult for consumption to replace investment as a major driving force for China's economy in short to medium term, said a senior economist at a government think tank.

China's high investment growth will continue from 2013-2015, coinciding with a period of slow growth as the economy goes through a cyclical downswing, Ma Xiaohe, deputy director-general of the Academy of Macroeconomic Research under the National Development and Reform Commission, told China Daily.

China's growth has become more reliant on credit-fueled investment in recent years, after exports sustained a blow from the global slowdown that began in 2008.