The Chinese economy is forecast to rise by 9.3 percent this year, and it will slow to 8.7 percent in 2012 and 8.8 percent in 2013, the World Bank forecast in its twice-yearly report, Global Economic Prospects, released on Wednesday.

The economic slowdown is moderate, said Ardo Hansson, lead World Bank economist in China.

China’s economy will maintain rapid growth and the Chinese government still has plenty of room to further tighten monetary policy, World Bank economists said on Wednesday.

The government should use interest rates more than administrative measures to deal with economic growth in the long term, Hansson said.

In an effort to mop up excessive liquidity and tame inflation, the central bank has raised interest rates four times since last October, and also increased the reserve requirement ratio for banks eight times over the same period to a record 21 percent.

China's consumer inflation will increase in May, driven by higher food prices and a lower comparison basis, adding the possibility of an imminent interest rate hike, analysts have said.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, will climb to 5.5 percent in May from 5.3 percent in April, said Qiao Hong, an economist from Goldman Sachs.

The World Bank predicted economic growth in developing countries will slow to around 6.3 percent each year from 2011 to 2013, from 7.3 percent in 2010.

High-income countries will see growth slow to 2.2 percent in 2011, from 2.7 percent in 2010, before picking up to 2.7 percent in 2012 and 2.6 percent in 2013, it said.